Spring into London (2)

Shaun Bailey: Please could you provide a breakdown of "Spring into London" projects and the funding allocated to them?

The Mayor: ‘Spring into London’, is the latest season of my Let’s Do London campaign. It aims to signal confidence, drive footfall and increase spend in central London.
It includes: City Lights, a series of immersive light and sound installations in the City of London; Pop-Up London a free festival of outdoor performances across central London; the Society of London Theatre New Year Sale promotion ‘Show Time’, encouraging audiences to London’s West End with tickets from just £10 for 40+ shows; and a partnership with Hot Dinners bringing exclusive discount dining deals and guides to Londoners and visitors. It is also supporting a range of culture institutions and events across London including the Southbank Centre Imagine Children’s Festival; Battersea Power Station Light Festival; BFI Future Film Festival; Canary Wharf Ice Rink; Somerset House; Legacies: London Transport’s Caribbean Workforce; Museum of London; and National Maritime Museum.
GLA funding allocated to the Spring into London season is £430,000. The season formed a major partnership between Business Improvement Districts, cultural organisations, hospitality businesses, philanthropy organisations and transport providers, including Bloomberg Philanthropies, City of London Corporation, Network Rail, Society of London Theatre and Southbank Business Improvement District (BID) all coming together to support central London’s recovery.

Value Of VED Paid By London Drivers

Nicholas Rogers: Please give an up-to-date estimate of the value of Vehicle Excise Duty paid by London’s drivers.

The Mayor: The amount paid by Londoners in vehicle Exercise Duty (VED) is estimated at £500m per year (compared to around £6 billion in the UK overall).
London has historically not retained revenues from VED: it is collected by the DVLA and retained by central Government, although since 2020 part of VED has been used to establish a new National Roads Fund. Transport for London (TfL), however, has very limited access to this and other sources of roads funding, meaning that options to undertake critical repairs and maintenance in the Capital were highly constrained even before the present financial gap caused by the impact of the pandemic.
For this reason TfL’s Financial Sustainability Plan (2021) proposes that VED is devolved to London, or that an equivalent amount of funding is made available to London on an annual basis.

Compensation for all London Bus Drivers who died from Covid-19

Keith Prince: Further to your response to question 2021/4497, will you provide me a copy of your 27 January 2021 letter to the Transport Secretary and the response you received on 8 February 2021?

The Mayor: Please find my letter to the Secretary of State for Transport and his response attached.

The Mayor: 0791 FinalResponse to MC, Chapter ID 327122.pdf.[1] letter.pdf


  0791 Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP 27 Jan letter.pdf

Mentoring (6)

Neil Garratt: Please can you outline the process and criteria for selecting young Londoners to receive a mentor? Will those with the most need be prioritised first and how will this need be measured?

The Mayor: I’m committed to continuing to work with London Councils, partners and youth organisations to build a safer, fairer and more prosperous city, where no-one is left behind. Our New Deal for Young People mission will ensure all young people in need have access to a personal mentor by 2024. A mentor to support them in education, training, employment and daily challenges they face.
My £7.2m investment to kickstart this commitment will fund local and experienced organisations to deliver mentoring to young people most in need in their communities. These may include young people who have been excluded from school or college, those who are impacted by exploitation, domestic violence or living in poverty, and those involved in the care system (and other more local needs identified by delivery organisations). Through these funded programmes, we will monitor the number of young people supported, their needs and the outcomes of their involvement.

Social Media End-to-End Encryption and Child Safeguarding

Caroline Pidgeon: Do you share the concerns raised by leading children’s charities including Barnardo’s, the Lucy Faithful Foundation, the Marie Collins Foundation and SafeToNet regarding plans by more social media companies to introduce end-to-end encryption, meaning they will no longer be able to detect cases of child sex abuse on their platforms?

The Mayor: There are significant concerns regarding end-to-end encryption and the potential impact on child safety and detecting child sexual abuse. While I understand the importance of protecting individual privacy and personal cybersecurity, experts are clear that end-to-end encryption can allow criminals an unacceptably high level of protection from law enforcement.
Tech companies have a responsibility to ensure their services are not used for illegal purposes and I urge the sector and the Government to work together, and with law enforcement, to find solutions to this issue. The Mayor believes that there needs to be stronger regulation of tech companies through a statutory duty of care to their users and will continue to lobby for the right legislation as the Government’s Online Safety Bill makes its way through parliamentary scrutiny.

Electric Buses

Krupesh Hirani: A Harrow constituent has written to say that bus routes H9 and H10 have been changed to an electric type. He says this is great news for the environment. However, his building now shakes every time an H9 or H10 drives past. Can we request monitoring to see if there is an issue and, if so, how this could be addressed by Transport for London?

The Mayor: Electric buses offer huge benefits. In addition to being zero emission they are quieter, improving quality of life for residents and customers alike. However, with the battery packs on board they can be heavier than the buses they replace, although still within the legal limit for road vehicles. Transport for London would be pleased to discuss this issue with you to better understand what the specific reasons might be for the issue your constituent is experiencing, and with the highway authority regarding any mitigations that may be needed.

Misuse of Corporate Credit Cards in the Met (1)

Caroline Pidgeon: How many Met employees have faced misconduct proceedings in the last five years due to the misuse of corporate credit cards? Please break this information down by i) month, ii) whether staff or officer (including rank), and iii) the outcome/sanction from the misconduct proceedings.

The Mayor: A Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) search of the Centurion IT system has identified two cases that went to misconduct proceedings in the last five years, which included an element of misuse of corporate credit cards.
Case 1
December 2018
Officer – Inspector
Outcome – Not proven at Misconduct Meeting
Case 2
January 2022
Officer 1 – Chief Superintendent
Officer 2 – Police Sergeant
Outcome for Officer 1 – Proven at Gross Misconduct Hearing
Outcome for Officer 2 – Proven at Misconduct Hearing
Sanction for Officer 1 – Dismissed without notice
Sanction for Officer 2 – Issued with management advice

Support for London’s Rough Sleepers

Caroline Pidgeon: As well as lobbying the Government for more funding to support work with rough sleepers, what work are you undertaking to try and identify more funding from within your existing budgets to support and assist rough sleepers in the capital?

The Mayor: By making the case for sufficient funding to tackle rough sleeping in London, I have secured £24.6m of government funding this year and £23.6m the year before. However, it is right that City Hall should also play its part in funding support for some of the most vulnerable Londoners. That is why I have significantly increased our own budget for rough sleeping services - from £8.45m a year when I took office to around £12m in the current year.

TPH 20/21 Notice (2)

Keith Prince: If this is the case, can you please tell me why TfL is still licensing private hire operators who allow private hire drivers to cancel an accepted operator booking via their in car drivers app?

The Mayor: If a private hire driver can no longer fulfil a journey allocated to them, Transport for London expects the operator to re-offer or re-allocate the journey to another driver. If another driver is unavailable, the cancellation notification sent to the passenger should clearly outline the next steps available to the customer.
Please also see my response to 2022/0771.

License Fee Prosecutions

Tony Devenish: Given your policing responsibility, are you concerned that the BBC appear to be discriminating against women as 75% of those who will be prosecuted for not paying the license fee are women, many of whom may live in London?

The Mayor: I understand from press reports that TV Licensing is now conducting a review, and I hope the Government will support the BBC in implementing any changes that may be required to mitigate this issue.

Whistleblowing reports

Unmesh Desai: Please provide the full report or all information held in relation to each of the calls to the Right line and Integrity Line whistleblowing lines as described in questions 2021/4653, 2021/4654, 2021/4655 and 2021/4656.

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is unable to provide the full reports to every call to the Right Line and Integrity Line. This would be a considerable volume of data to process, some of which will have been provided in confidence.

Special Constables 1

Nicholas Rogers: In June 2018 you said you aim to have 3,200 special constables in the Met (MQ 2018/1567) and in July 2019 you said you wanted to have 2,054 by March 2020 (MQ 2019/14234). In January 2020, there were 1838 special constables. Why did the Met fail to reach these targets and what are you doing to recruit more?

The Mayor: In light of the Government’s decision to partially reverse its previous cuts to police funding and provide 20,000 more officers nationally the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has prioritised the recruitment of regular Police Constables. In so doing it is on course to deliver the highest number of officers in MPS history by the end of this financial year.
The number of Special Constables in the Metropolitan Special Constabulary (MSC) has remained consistently around 1,800 for the past three years. I continue to support the MSC through the provision of free travel across London’s tube, buses and other TfL operated services.

TPH 20/21 Notice (1)

Keith Prince: TfL has issued a TPH 20/21 notice stating that the private hire operator must enter into a contract with the passenger as the principal. Can you confirm that this means that the private hire operator has a responsibility to pick the passenger up after acceptance of their booking?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) set out its response to the 6 December 2021 Divisional Court judgment in TPH Notice 19/21 which states:
In order to operate lawfully under the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 a licensed operator who accepts a booking from a passenger is required to enter into a contractual obligation with the passenger to provide the journey which is the subject of the booking.
All operators will need to demonstrate to TfL through their operating procedures, booking processes or otherwise that they enter into a contractual obligation with passengers to provide the journey which is the subject of the booking.
However, as set out in my previous response 2022/0139, there may be legitimate reasons why a private hire vehicle operator may not be able to fulfil a booking they have accepted.

Mentoring (4)

Neil Garratt: Which organisations are you partnering with to achieve your pledge to provide all young Londoners with a mentor by 2024?

The Mayor: I’m determined to put young people at the heart of London’s recovery efforts and will work in partnership with London Councils, community groups and other partners to ensure that every young Londoner in need of support has the positive opportunities and role model they deserve.
The £7.2m City hall investment I announced on 9 February will kickstart my commitment and fund local and experienced organisations to embed the best quality mentoring possible for those young people that need it the most.
But this investment is just the beginning and it will very much be a joint effort and not one City Hall can achieve alone -that’s why I’m so pleased to have teamed up with London Councils, youth and community groups, London’s Anchor Institutions and businesses to drive this commitment forward. Together we’ll use our powers, funding and resources, to enable and empower the youth sector to create a New Deal for Young People.

Mentoring (5)

Neil Garratt: How are you identifying gaps in mentor programmes across London to make sure you do not duplicate any ongoing work to meet your pledge to provide all young Londoners with a mentor by 2024?

The Mayor: There is some amazing work already happening across London by individuals and grassroots organisations with a deep insight and personal attachment to the challenges faced by young people in their local communities. Through the New Deal for Young People, I am working with partners from London Councils, the voluntary and community sector and other partners to recognise and champion this great work.

Mentoring (2)

Neil Garratt: Will all mentors in your pledge to provide all young Londoners with a mentor by 2024, be employed by or paid for from your budget? Please give a breakdown of how you will pay for all the mentors to achieve this pledge and from which budget.

The Mayor: The £7.2m City Hall investment I announced in February will kickstart my pledge and expand the mentoring offer in London for those young people most in need. We know that mentoring is most successful when delivered by those that are closest to, and embedded, in the community, therefore £4.8m (from the New Deal for Young People budget) will fund local and experienced organisations to deliver three mentoring programmes: Mentoring Leaders (£3.5m); STEAM Mentoring (£500k); and HeadStart Action (£800k). Organisations will use both paid and volunteer mentors. An additional £2.4m (from the Violence Reduction Unit) will fund a three-year mentoring programme to tackle school exclusions.
But this investment is just the beginning and it will be a joint effort which is why I’m pleased to have teamed up with London Councils, community groups, and youth led organisations and am determined to drive this commitment forward in the next two years.

Mentoring (3)

Neil Garratt: In your pledge to provide all young Londoners with a mentor by 2024, how long will this last for? Please give a breakdown of how long each scheme within this pledge will run for.

The Mayor: The £7.2m investment I announced on 9 February will kickstart my commitment to giving all young people in need, access to a personal mentor by 2024. This will provide funding to expand the best quality mentoring possible for those young people that need it the most through the following programmes:
Mentoring Leaders: to expand quality mentoring for young people and provide support to other organisations delivering mentoring from March 2022 to March 2024.
Headstart Action: to deliver mentoring and youth social action, employability training and work experience opportunities for young people from March 2022 to March 2024.
STEAM Mentoring: to expand quality STEAM mentoring for young people and to support STEAM delivering mentoring from March 2022 to March 2024.
Pupil Referral Unit Mentoring: to keep pupils in Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) engaged in their education, motivated and supported to achieve their goals, delivered from September 2022 to July 2025.

Smart City Policing

Tony Devenish: What work are you undertaking to improve policing London as a “smart city”?

The Mayor: I am committed to working with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to ensure it uses all opportunities to prevent, disrupt and detect crime through harnessing new technology in a lawful, ethical, proportionate and transparent way, in line with data protection legislation and the framework set out in my Emerging Tech Charter for London.
The MPS has a positive track record of deploying new technologies, from rolling out Body-worn cameras in 2017 through to the piloting and deployment of Live Facial Recognition Technology to prevent and detect crime, find wanted criminals and protect people from harm.
To ensure the MPS keeps up with developing crime trends, I have approved a £187m revenue contract to support the use of innovative technology. This contract will support the MPS’s capabilities for dealing with serious and organised crime, online fraud and cybercrime.

Knife Crime Prevention Orders

Tony Devenish: How many Knife Crime Prevention Orders have been issued in London in their first six months?

The Mayor: Since the 7th July 2021, the Met has been granted 28 Knife Crime Prevention Orders.

Pay Gaps

Emma Best: What were the gender, ethnicity and disability pay gaps in London for each year since 2016? Please also provide the national figure as a comparison and a breakdown by sector.

The Mayor: The latest gender pay gap for 2021 for employee jobs (based on median hourly pay) was 16.2 per cent for London and 15.4 per cent for the UK.
The latest data for ethnicity and disability pay gaps is from 2019, as the dataset from which the figures are derived faced challenges in 2020, which affected the reliability of this calculation. 2021 data are not yet available. The ethnicity pay gap (White:BAME) for London was 28.2 per cent and 1.6 per cent for the UK. The disability pay gap was 16.6 per cent for London and 14.8 per cent for the UK.
Time series and some further details are published as part of the Economic Fairness measures on the London Datastore. Information on pay gaps by sector is not routinely available for London. Gender pay gaps by industry for 2019 only are, again, published on the London Datastore.

GLA Public Health

Emma Best: What do you hope to achieve through the changes to the GLA’s public health team and what new targets will you be setting as a result of these changes?

The Mayor: Having seen the benefits during the pandemic, I am committed to strengthening public health capacity, supporting work to tackle health inequalities and embedding a ‘Health in All Policies’ approach. GLA Group organisations are also keen to strengthen collaboration, and gain better access to public health expertise, contributing to Londoners’ health and wellbeing, either directly, or through shaping the social, economic, and environmental conditions in which they live.
The proposed shared service between the GLA and GLA functional bodies (LFC, MOPAC, OPDC and TfL), will expand and formalise independent public health advice and support services to me, the Assembly and the wider GLA Group.
The proposed new GLA Public Health Forum, co-chaired by my statutory health advisor and my senior health policy advisor, on which the Assembly Health Committee will have observer status, will undertake annual priority setting, oversee delivery and performance, and will advise me on any new targets that should be set.

Better police recruitment

Tony Devenish: Have you looked into the work of Brian Klaas, Associate Professor, Global Politics, University College London, on recruiting a better police force?

The Mayor: Officers from my Office for Policing and Crime are aware of the work of Brian Klaas and his focus on the importance of recruiting the right people to be police officers.

Quarter of over-50s less active than pre-pandemic (3)

Caroline Russell: Thank you for your answer to question 2022/0031, in which you stated that you have asked Transport for London (TfL) to: “work closely with the NHS in London to encourage more people to build healthier and more active travel options into their daily lives.” Could you provide details of the programmes that TfL and the NHS in London are jointly working on, and details of any new funding to support these programmes?

The Mayor: TfL’s Healthy Streets Approach improves the health of Londoners whilst reducing health inequalities by enabling more people to walk, cycle and use public transport rather than travel by car. TfL, GLA and the London Region’s Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) are exploring how to work in alignment with the NHS and the national ‘Moving Healthcare Professionals Programme’ which aims to support healthcare professionals to increase their knowledge and skills to promote physical activity to patients to prevent and manage ill health. As part of this approach, TfL is scoping how to support healthcare professionals to encourage patients to build physical activity into their daily lives through walking, cycling and public transport use.

Cost of Living

Leonie Cooper: Is there any help the Mayor can give to residents struggling with the high cost of food and heating, and other bills?

The Mayor: I’m deeply concerned about the cost of living crisis and am determined to do all I can to help Londoners struggling to make ends meet.
I’m already providing support to Londoners to reduce their fuel bills and energy debts through my Warmer Homes Advice Service, and I’ve invested £1.7 million in partnerships delivering income maximisation and debt advice in community settings across the capital.
Most recently I’ve provided more than £200,000 funding to Debt Free London to operate their free debt advice helpline 24 hours a day, seven days a week until the end of May, and I’ve earmarked a further £3.7 million in next year’s GLA budget for work on the cost of living crisis.
I’ll keep doing what I can, but Government must step up and do more. They can start by uprating benefits from April in line with the latest inflation forecasts and committing to extending the Household Support Fund.

Reputable Contractors

Leonie Cooper: Many older residents find it hard to find reputable and reliable plumbers, builders etc. Has the Mayor any plans of producing a recommended list of reputable contractors in London so older and more vulnerable people can trust the people they employ to do work around their homes?

The Mayor: That older people can find reputable and trustworthy tradespeople to do the work that they need done around their homes is incredibly important.
I am pleased that Age UK is able to point older Londoners to such tradespeople through its London Boroughs Business Directory. This can be accessed on-line at www.aubdlondon.co.uk. All entries are checked by Age UKs Business Directory staff to ensure that the tradespeople are qualified, insured and have a history of reliable and trustworthy trading.
In addition, local Age UKs, such as Age UK Wandsworth, offer a handypersons service to local older people.

LGBT+ History Month

Leonie Cooper: What events has the Mayor put on during LGBT+ history month?

The Mayor: I am committed to celebrating London’s diversity in all its forms, including actively celebrating and supporting London’s LGBTQ+ communities all year round, not just in LGBTQ+ History Month or Pride Month. The Mayor of London Instagram account recently featured a guide to places where Londoners can learn about LGBTQ+ history. I have also recently supported the creation of a permanent LGBTQ+ History Museum, an LGBTQ+ Community Centre, and the UK’s first LGBTQ+ retirement community, alongside ongoing work to support LGBTQ+ venues at risk of closure. LGBTQ+ specific days such as Lesbian Visibility Day or the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia are celebrated on the Mayor of London social media channels. When engaging with London’s diverse communities, specific contributions and needs of LGBTQ+ Londoners are included: for example, the Black History Tube map included Black LGBTQ+ pioneers, LGBTQ+ specific support was signposted to around Christmas, and our recent fundraising campaign for a coalition rough sleeping organisations benefitted akt, a youth LGBTQ+ charity.
As an organisation, I’m pleased that we have a strong and active LGBTQ+ Staff Network, which held several Lunchtime Presentations and events during LGBTQ+ History Month, including a Trans Awareness session for staff and managers, a review of London’s LGBTQ+ cultural spaces and a tour of the LGBTQ+ Archives at the Bishopsgate Institute. I was also delighted to report that the GLA ranked 30 in Stonewall’s Top 100 Employers 2022 – third out of all public sector organisations – and was recognised with a Gold Employer Award.

Londoners suffering with long COVID (2)

Caroline Russell: Could you provide an update on work undertaken for the long COVID assessment centres referenced in your answer to question 2021/1458? What is the impact of these centres to date, and could you provide details of future plans for them?

The Mayor: As chair of the London Health Board, I am working with and keeping in close contact with partners, including NHS England, who have told us that they’re now providing 17 Long Covid clinics pan-London offering assessment, diagnostics and access to treatment. 96% of London Primary Care Networks also signed up offering enhanced GP services in 2021/22. Over 6,000 patients have been registered since April 2021.
Work’s ongoing in London to improve local service models, recruit additional clinical staff, support research, embed digital tools (e.g. the Your Covid Recovery and Living With apps) and contribute to a national audit reviewing retrospective clinical outcomes. Among them are ICSs who have received additional funding for 2022/2023 to improve access to services, proactive case finding and access to vocational advice, and rehabilitation to reduce health inequalities in collaboration with NHS England, London OHID, GLA and local authority stakeholders.
As an example, Guys and St Thomas’ NHS Trust’s recent audit found that 49% of patients attending the clinic self-reported improved symptoms at three months, with 97% reporting their issues addressed.

Management of serial domestic abuse perpetrators

Unmesh Desai: The Government has produced new statutory guidance for police forces on how to work through Multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) arrangements. Will this alter the way in which offenders are monitored through the Visor system?

The Mayor: The new statutory guidance for all MAPPA partners, including the police, promotes the use of MAPPA in managing the risk posed by domestic abuse perpetrators. This will not alter the way that MAPPA cases are managed on ViSOR, which is the case tracking and information sharing system used to manage all MAPPA cases.

Youth services

Leonie Cooper: What more can the Mayor do to help youth services in Wandsworth and Merton? How much funding have you made available to each borough in the past 2 years and how much do you plan to spend in the next 2 years?

The Mayor: I am committed to ensuring all young Londoners have access to quality youth activities and services. On top of decades of national cuts, youth services and workers have been undervalued but they have continued to mentor and support young people despite this.
My Young Londoners Fund (YLF) has funded more than 300 organisations to provide positive activities for over 110,000 young Londoners from 2018 to 2022. Through Rounds 1 and 2 of the Young Londoners Fund, to date, I have invested £249,086 in Merton and £355,177 in Wandsworth and, through Wave 5 of the London Community Response Fund I have invested £49,996, in Merton and £50,000 to date in Wandsworth.
As part of the New Deal for Young People I have recently announced £7.2m investment in four programmes to expand mentoring to young people facing the biggest challenges over the next three years and an additional £14m investment in projects to support better opportunities for young people.

Anti-vaccination protests

Onkar Sahota: A vaccination centre in my constituency was recently targeted by protestors. I will not name it as it was extremely distressing for staff and patients alike. How can you reassure my constituents that this antisocial behaviour is wrong-headed as vaccines are safe, effective and the best way for residents to protect themselves and loved ones against COVID-19?

The Mayor: Freedom to protest is a fundamental part of our democracy, but it is completely unacceptable for the staff and patients at a vaccination centre to feel distressed and intimidated by anti-vaccination protestors. We must call out the dangerous misinformation being spread, as the case for being vaccinated against COVID-19 is overwhelming.
Vaccination is the single most effective way to reduce deaths and severe illness from COVID-19. They have saved countless lives, prevented the NHS from becoming overwhelmed and helped to keep our economy open. Those that are vaccinated are 85% less likely to be hospitalised with COVID-19 than those that are unvaccinated.
All three vaccines being currently used in the UK have been authorised for supply following a thorough review of safety, quality and efficacy information from clinical trials. So get your COVID vaccine as soon as possible, by going online, calling 119 or finding your nearest walk-in centre.

Climate Action

Tony Devenish: How will the Mayor engage with organisations like We Mean Business Coalition, to help business take action on climate change?

The Mayor: I work closely with both local and international business membership organisations and coalitions, including the We Mean Business Coalition. The London Business Climate Leaders initiative was developed with and continues to be supported by: We Mean Business, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the B Team, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and C40. I work closely with such partners to strengthen London’s innovative approach to city-business collaboration.
I am creating local coalitions of businesses for climate action through my Better Futures programme and my Business Climate Challenge. Through the Green New Deal Recovery Mission, I am working with business organisations such as the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Federation of Small Business (FSB), London First and others to accelerate a green recovery from the pandemic by advancing action to retrofit London’s commercial buildings.

IOPC report 3

Susan Hall: What actions are you personally taking following the recent publication of the IOPC report (Operation Hotton)?

The Mayor: We know that the examples of the culture exposed by the Operation Hotton report are not isolated, nor are they historic. As the report notes, these issues are not isolated to a few “bad apples”. I therefore made clear to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner the scale of the change I believe is urgently required to rebuild the trust and confidence of Londoners in the Met and to root out the racism, sexism, homophobia, bullying, discrimination and misogyny that still exists.
It is clear that the only way to start to deliver the scale of the change required is to have new leadership right at the top of the Metropolitan Police.
We must root out all examples of the kind of behaviour seen in Operation Hotton and the IOPC has a vital role to play in ensuring that this happens. I have met the IOPC to discuss their report and the fifteen learning recommendations. I will hold the MPS to account to deliver on these recommendations and their work to start to rebuild the trust and confidence of Londoners in them.

IOPC report 2

Susan Hall: Having been responsible for policing in London for almost six years, do you share responsibility for any current problems in the Met?

The Mayor: My top priority remains keeping Londoners safe. I have shown my determination to be tough on crime by investing a record £1bn over the last five years in policing, putting 1,300 more officers on the streets of the capital. I am also being tough on the complex causes of crime by investing in programmes to address the factors which increase the likelihood of someone becoming involved in, or a victim of violence.
Figures show that violence was falling in London before the pandemic, and over the past year knife crime, youth violence and gun crime have come down further. Since the start of my Mayoralty in 2016, serious violent crime such as knife crime resulting in injury is down 15 per cent, gun crime is down 25 per cent, and under-25 knife crime has reduced 27 per cent.
There are thousands of incredibly brave and decent police officers at the Met who go above and beyond every day to help keep us safe, and we owe them a huge debt of gratitude. However, I am deeply concerned by how public trust and confidence in London’s police service has been shattered, and I believe that only change right at the top will be able to restore trust and lead the change the Met needs to see in order to root out misogyny, sexism, racism and homophobia.

IOPC report 1

Susan Hall: How many officers were in the WhatsApp group mentioned in the recent IOPC report (Operation Hotton)?

The Mayor: The IOPC Operation Hotton investigation obtained and reviewed a substantial volume of evidence, which included an extensive witness appeal. The IOPC interviewed subject officers and took statements from police colleagues who had worked either directly or indirectly with any subject officer. While investigating specific allegations, the IOPC seized electronic devices and analysed content on mobile and IT equipment belonging to officers. The majority of evidence gathered comes from personal messages between police officers in both individual and group chat messages. There was more than one WhatsApp group.
The Operation Hotton investigations found evidence of messages exchanged between police officers that were often highly sexualised and/or violent and discriminatory. In total, 14 Officers were put under notice that they were being investigated. Certain officers were subject to investigation across multiple strands.

Drink driving 1

Keith Prince: For each year 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 please can you provide the number of drink driving offences in each borough?

The Mayor: Please see attached the requested information related to both MQ 0766 and MQ 0768. The supplied notes page should be read in conjunction with the data to aid in interpretation.
The borough in which an offence took place is not available for this dataset - therefore the information has been broken down by the Custody Suite a detainee was taken to.

The Mayor: 0766_&_0768_Drug driving 1 & Drink driving 1 (1).xlsx

Health Initiatives

Emma Best: Since the pandemic began, what non-covid related health initiatives have you announced and what have these achieved? Please provide measurable targets and funding allocated for each project.

The Mayor: The far-reaching impacts of the pandemic on every aspect of our physical and mental health make it impossible to separate out which of these of activities are “non-covid related”. Recent activity includes my commitment to engage 250,000 wellbeing champions and we have already achieved over 65,000 against this target. 761 Londoners have engaged in our bereavement campaign through our programme of webinars (against a target of 800) with a further 4,800 bereaved Londoners engaging with our online resources. 3,912 people have also been provided with Mental Health First Aid Training (against a target of 4,000 by the end of 2021/22). I also committed to establish new health and care academies, with funding for three health academies announced last month.
To support child health, I have committed to increase the number of water only schools and create up to 50 new School Superzones by 2025, with funding rounds due to commence in March 2022. This activity will be supported by funds of £1.5m over the next two years.

TPH 20/21 Notice (4)

Keith Prince: Does the Mayor now agree that the correct procedure for private hire drivers is that the driver is compelled to pick up a passenger where a private hire operator has instructed them to do so to ensure the passenger is not left stranded?

The Mayor: Please see 2022/0772 in addition to my previous answer 2022/0282.

Drug driving 1

Keith Prince: For each year 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 please can you provide the number of drug driving offences in each borough?

The Mayor: Please see attached the requested information related to both MQ 0766 and MQ 0768. The supplied notes page should be read in conjunction with the data to aid in interpretation.
The borough in which an offence took place is not available for this dataset - therefore the information has been broken down by the Custody Suite a detainee was taken to.

The Mayor: 0766_&_0768_Drug driving 1 & Drink driving 1 (1).xlsx

Traffic reduction policies in line with 2030 net zero modelling (1)

Zack Polanski: Your January 2022 report, London Net Zero 2030: An Updated Pathway, contains a scenario that would reduce car vehicle kilometres by 27 per cent by 2030 to reduce transport emissions, with remaining emissions to be offset. This report also includes a scenario where car kilometres are reduced by 40 per cent. What would be the additional cost of seeking to offset London's transport emissions if traffic is only reduced by 27 not 40 per cent by 2030?

The Mayor: I want to prioritise rapid and deep decarbonisation in London in the short-term but recognise that there will be emissions impossible to remove by 2030 that will need to be offset. I will ensure that my approach to offsetting is robust, rigorous, delivers additionality and is fair.
According to the Element Energy report, changes in vehicle use would combine to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 0.7 MtCO2e(Accelerated Green) and 1.1 Mt CO2e (No Constraints) compared to the 2020 baseline. The difference is approximately 0.4 Mt CO2e.
Element Energy assumes the cost of offsetting in 2030 to be £80-£420 / tCO2e (central and high prices). The difference in the cost of offsetting between the scenarios based on changes in vkm alone would therefore be roughly £30 - £170m in 2030.
However, this does not account for interactions with other factors such as technology shifts and fuel mix nor does it take into account the different economic impacts of the two scenarios. This means that the cost of offsetting could be lower.

TPH 20/21 Notice (3)

Keith Prince: Does the Mayor agree that TfL must only licence private hire operators who have removed the driver app functions from allowing the driver to cancel a booking which the private hire operator has accepted?

The Mayor: Please see my answer to 2022/0771 and 2022/0772.

Service Charge Charter (4)

Sem Moema: How are you encouraging additional housing providers to sign up to your new Service Charge Charter?

The Mayor: All housing providers receiving funding through the new Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26 are expected to sign up to new Charter. Since the publication of the new Service Charges Charter, I have made it clear that I encourage all Registered Providers directly involved in the development and management of Shared Ownership homes in London as well as private developers of leasehold homes to sign up and apply the Charter’s principles across their properties.
When providers sign up to the Charter, they send an important message to their residents that they are following best-practice principles on managing service charges, including on transparency and accountability. A list of signatories will be published on the Charter’s webpage for the public to access.

Service Charge Charter (3)

Sem Moema: What protections does your new Service Charge Charter give to tenants and leaseholders?

The Mayor: The Charter seeks to standardise providers’ approach to service charges and is an important standard for consumer protection. Key benefits include providers needing to supply detailed and clear information to new buyers; to set service charges at a realistic level; to consult with leaseholders if changes to operation and management of buildings result in changes to service charges.
Providers will also need to provide information about the process for leaseholders to formally challenge or complain about their service charge.
The Charter sits alongside other actions I have taken to improve leaseholders’ experience, including ending ground rents on GLA land and putting in place a new expectation that all shared ownership homes funded through the new Affordable Homes Programme come with long-term 990-year leases, removing the need for expensive lease extensions.

Service Charge Charter (2)

Sem Moema: In addition to those housing providers who the GLA have partnered with, how many additional housing providers or landlords have signed up to your Service Charge Charter?

The Mayor: Please see answer MQ 2022/0676.

Service Charge Charter (1)

Sem Moema: Have all of the existing signatories of the former Service Charge Charter signed up to the updated version?

The Mayor: The new Service Charges Charter was published in December 2021. All housing providers receiving funding through the new Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26 are expected to sign up to new Charter as this will replace the previous one. A signatory letter will be sent together with the Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26 contracts. The letter will also remind partners that Key Information Documents now require them to disclose to potential shared owners whether they have signed up to the Service Charges Charter.
Once contracts have been signed, I will update the list of signatories on the Charter’s webpage. I am also encouraging all Registered Providers directly involved in the development and management of Shared Ownership homes in London, including those who received funding through the 2016-23 Affordable Homes Programme, as well as private developers of leasehold homes to sign up and apply the Charter’s principles across their properties.

Supply of Key Worker Housing

Sem Moema: Does the GLA collect data on the supply of key worker housing? If not, would it be possible to collect this data so that providers are aware of what existing provision there is?

The Mayor: The term 'key worker housing’ is applicable to homes that are subject to specific eligibility criteria restricting residents to key worker occupations. Schemes have been established over many decades and tend to have bespoke arrangements. There is not comprehensive data on supply across London and my housing team does not consider it feasible to achieve a robust quantification of these types of homes.
My overall goal is to increase the supply of genuinely affordable homes for Londoners and to encourage landlords prioritise key workers when allocating intermediate homes.. I am working to push for the government’s formal monitoring and reporting framework, CORE, to records occupation data, so that analysis can reveal the extent of key worker take-up of affordable housing.

Housing Support for Key Workers

Sem Moema: Given many key workers face long commutes after working 12-hour shifts, how is the GLA working to build more key worker accommodation?

The Mayor: London’s key workers span a range of income levels and therefore have a range of different housing needs and requirements. Some key workers require social housing, and building new social rent homes is a key priority within my Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26. Many key workers are in households eligible for intermediate housing, which I also fund, either as shared ownership or London Living Rent homes - a new tenure that I introduced with rents pegged at one-third of local average incomes.
Where I can directly influence the development of land, I have sought to spearhead key worker housing – for example at the St Ann’s hospital site, where Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust will make use of 22 London Living Rent homes for ten years to ensure staff can be housed locally.
More broadly, I provide resources to the London Estates Delivery Unit, which is a pan-London partnership of resource and expertise to realise the potential of the health estate to provide for London’s needs, including accommodation.

Housing Support for Nurses

Sem Moema: According to the Royal College of Nursing, only 6% of nurses are aware that they might be able to get support with their housing. What can the GLA do to promote awareness that help is there?

The Mayor: We owe a debt of gratitude to our fantastic nursing workforce who have continued to work tirelessly to support Londoners throughout the pandemic. The Royal College of Nursing have highlighted that nurses cite the high cost of housing as one the most challenging aspects of living in the capital. Low awareness of employer assistance is compounded by the lack of publicly available data on accommodation London NHS Trusts hold for staff.
My officers have been working in partnership with the London Estates Delivery Unit, One Public Estate and Community Health Partnerships to conduct research into affordable homes for NHS staff in north central London. The findings, applicable across the capital, will help developers, charities, and registered providers consider the affordable housing make up of their schemes to close the housing affordability gap.
I meet regularly with the senior leadership of the NHS in London and will raise this issue with them to see what progress can be made in these areas.

Local Housing Allowance (2)

Sem Moema: How would you like to see Local Housing Allowance changed to benefit Londoners?

The Mayor: The financial support for renters has to reflect the actual costs of renting, especially in a city like London. Rates for Local Housing Allowance (LHA) should be set at median market rents, as they were prior to April 2011. They also need to be updated annually, to ensure that they keep track of market rents. This would avoid situations like the current one, where the rates set in April 2020 will apply until at least March 2023, despite a steep increase in rents during 2021.
LHA does not operate in isolation: too many Londoners receive less than maximum rates, because of the Benefit Cap, as research Policy in Practice completed for the GLA in spring 2020 highlighted. The Government should scrap the cap to avoid claimants who haven’t been able to find a job, or who struggle to work because of caring responsibilities, also being put at risk of arrears and eviction.

Local Housing Allowance (1)

Sem Moema: What impact has the unfreezing of the Local Housing Allowance had on Londoners?

The Mayor: The government unfroze Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates in April 2020, after four years. This returned rates to the 30th percentile of market rents for the first time since April 2011 and was a step in the right direction. It helped some Londoners secure or sustain tenancies, including those Londoners who started claiming benefits because of the economic impacts of Covid.
However, too many Londoners didn’t benefit because of the overall Benefit Cap – as research Policy in Practice completed for the GLA in spring 2020 highlighted.
Worse still, the government has returned to a policy of freezing LHA rates. It kept them at April 2020 levels throughout 2021/22 and will do so next year too. In combination with the sharp increase in London’s private rents in 2021, this means that, even for claimants not subject to the Benefit Cap, gaps between LHA rates and rents have returned. This leaves claimants struggling to cover rents or avoid homelessness, and will lead to further overcrowding as families are forced into homes that are too small for them.

Tomorrow’s Market 2.0 programme

Zack Polanski: How many people registered their interest to join your Tomorrow’s Market 2.0 programme and of those who registered their interest, how many people make up the current Tomorrow’s Market 2.0 cohort?

The Mayor: My Tomorrow’s Market programme 2.0 brings together operators, practitioners and experts from across the sector to collaborate and share examples of innovation, advice and best practice across London’s markets. Over 100 people from local authority markets and markets operators have so far expressed their interest in the programme and will join the cohort. Some of these individuals are involved in markets projects funded through my Good Growth and Good Growth Accelerator Funds, and the London Recovery Board's High Streets for All challenge.
Tomorrow’s Market 2.0 has been established to support market operators to develop localised strategies and business incubation models that address the impact of the pandemic and link markets with wider high street recovery plans. A programme of engagement, seminars and 1-1 support will culminate in the production a 'how to' guide that celebrates best practice and provides guidance on implementing localised Tomorrow’s Market strategies across London and beyond.

LGBTQ+ Community Centre for London

Hina Bokhari: With reference to my question 2021/1398 on 27 May 2021, what further progress has been made in supporting and establishing a new LGBTQ+ community centre for London?

The Mayor: My officers worked with community centre trustees, and the London Borough of Southwark, to secure a suitable meanwhile space in London. I am delighted to report that the new LGBTQIA-specific community centre opened on 1 December 2021. This centre is long overdue and will offer a range of much needed LGBTQIA-specific services, including mental health support, sexual health advice, and wider services targeted at trans people.

Low Emission Bus Zones

Hina Bokhari: Following data published on the 22 January 2022 showing that emissions of toxic air from road transport in outer London are not reducing at the same speed as in central and inner London, do you have plans to introduce any further low emission bus zones in any locations of outer London?

The Mayor: Low Emission Bus Zones were designed to tackle the worst air quality hotspots outside central London by concentrating cleaner buses on the most polluting routes, helping people to breathe cleaner air. From 2020, all scheduled Transport for London (TfL) buses travelling through the 12 Low Emission Bus Zones met or exceeded the latest Euro VI emissions standards.
However, the success of TfL’s bus retrofit programme has meant that, since early 2021, the entire bus fleet now meets or exceeds Euro VI emission standards. In effect, this means that the whole of London is now a Low Emission Bus Zone. TfL also continues to expand its fleet of zero-emission buses, which currently stands at over 650. TfL has brought forward its target date for converting the whole fleet from 2037 to 2034, but this is dependent upon TfL reaching an adequate and long-term funding settlement with Government.

Air Pollution effects on Pre-School Children

Hina Bokhari: How many establishments in London offering pre-school education under the age of five are located in close proximity to locations with measured high levels of air pollution, for example on busy A-roads such as the South Circular?

The Mayor: Since I became Mayor there has been a significant reduction in the number of state schools which exceed the legal pollution limit for nitrogen dioxide – from 450 in 2016 to 20 today. No nursery on the Government’s national database of educational establishments, GIAS (formerly EduBase), is now located in areas exceeding legal pollution limits, compared to 30 in 2016.
However, despite this progress, the new London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory published last year showed that every school and nursery in London is located in an area which exceeds the World Health Organization’s guideline limits for both PM2.5 and nitrogen dioxide. This underlines why more action is urgently needed to tackle air pollution, and why I am prioritising GLA policies and programmes in this area.

Wood Burning Stoves Working Group

Hina Bokhari: What measurable outcomes have been achieved by the local authority wood burning working group, which you established at the start of last year, as stated in your response to the Assembly’s Wood Burning Stoves motion on 26 January 2022?

The Mayor: The group was established to fill the void left by the absence of action and appropriate powers from Government and has:has already:
Whilst it is challenging to quantify the direct impact of this on burning so far, the planned awareness-raising project will include metrics to assess success. Furthermore, objectives for reducing wood burning in London will be considered as part of a wider piece of work we’re undertaking into meeting World Health Organization PM2.5 targets.

Employment Gaps

Emma Best: What were the gender, ethnicity and disability employment gaps in London for each year since 2016? Please also provide the national figure as a comparison and a breakdown by sector.

The Mayor: The gender employment gap for 2020 (calculated as the difference between the percentage of women aged 16-64 in employment and the percentage of men aged 16-64 in employment) was 7 percentage points for both London and for the UK.
The ethnicity employment gap for 2020 was 12 percentage points for London and 9 percentage points for the UK (BAME compared with White residents).
The disability employment gap for 2020 was 25 percentage points for London and 27 percentage points for the UK.
Time series and some further details are published as part of the Economic Fairness measures on the London Datastore. Some information on employment levels by sector is routinely published for gender and ethnicity, but not by disability status. A spreadsheet including the available data from 2016-2020 from which to calculate employment gaps is attached.

Grant working group

Susan Hall: Please provide the minutes and meeting notes of the GLA grant working group held on 9th February and a list of the attendees?

The Mayor: The Grant Working Group is an internal informal group and no minutes and meetings are recorded. The group is chaired by Alice Wilcock, Assistant Director, Team London and Farah Elahi, Head of Community Engagement. The purpose of the group is to foster a space for sharing good grant making and delivery practice, update on grant activity, and to better align grant processes. February’s session focused on sharing internal good practice examples from the Culture and Community Spaces at Risk and Civil Society Roots programmes as well as updates on the internal Grant Discovery Exercise.

Victims’ right of reviews

Susan Hall: For each month since June 2020, how many victims’ right of reviews have been initiated in London, broken down by crime type?

The Mayor: Please see attached the requested information.

The Mayor: 0866_Victims’ Right to Review_v2 (1).xlsx

Victim satisfaction 1

Susan Hall: What is the victim satisfaction level for those whose crime reports are processed by the Telephone Digital Investigation Unit (TDIU)broken down by contact method e.g. online?

The Mayor: This information is available on the MOPAC website on the Public Voice Dashboard (https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/mayors-office-policing-and-crime-mopac/data-and-statistics/public-voice-dashboard). This product is updated quarterly.

Victim satisfaction 2

Susan Hall: For each year 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, what is the victim satisfaction broken down by crime type?

The Mayor: The attached data file contains the above information broken down by quarter from Q1 15-16 through to Q3 21-22, the most recent data.
A Notes page is included to aid in interpretation of the data.
Since April 2021, this information is also available on the MOPAC Public Voice Dashboard and is updated quarterly (https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/mayors-office-policing-and-crime-mopac/data-and-statistics/public-voice-dashboard).

The Mayor: MQ_0865.xlsx

Crime reports

Susan Hall: For each year 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 how many crime reports did the Met’s Telephone Digital Investigation Unit (TDIU) receive and how many of those were screened in?

The Mayor: Please see the requested information in the table below.
However, please note that the MPS Telephone Digital Investigation Unit (TDIU) was launched in 2017 – therefore information for 2015 and 2016 relate to local telephone reporting units. Similarly, for 2017 this combines TDIU and local units. The table shows the number of crime reports and the screening decisions recorded.
Screening Decision
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
Screened In
66,792
85,232
85,389
92,069
133,341
124,285
110,390
Screened Out
83,449
79,729
150,854
286,864
338,838
241,467
252,839
% Screened In
44.46%
51.67%
36.14%
24.30%
28.24%
33.98%
30.39%
Grand Total
150,241
164,961
236,243
378,933
472,179
365,752
363,229

Press Officers

Susan Hall: How many press officers has the GLA Group employed each year since May 2016 and at what cost? Please give a breakdown by organisation.

The Mayor: Year
Staff no
Annual costs
May 2016 to April 2017
3
124,625.05
May 2017 to April 2018
3
140,722.21
May 2018 to April 2019
3
118,139.49
May 2019 to April 2020
3
113,477.68
May 2020 to April 2021
2
105,543.38

Review of High Level Air Pollution Alerts

Hina Bokhari: Will you commit to conducting an extensive review of the trigger levels for high air pollution alerts in London following the alerts on 14 January 2022, which did not reach predicted levels?

The Mayor: In 2016, given the air pollution crisis I inherited in London, I established for the first time a Londonwide alerts system to ensure Londoners were warned about the worst periods of air pollution which can have immediate impacts on health.
I instituted a review of the process and messaging used for my London-wide air quality alerts system in 2021 in order to ensure as broad and impactful a reach as possible. A similar point was made in the report by the Coroner following the inquest into the death of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah in 2021.
I have asked my officers to coordinate the GLA’s work with Defra’s review of the Daily Air Quality Index (DAQI), which determines whether pollution levels are low, moderate, high or very high, and the wider provision of air quality information in the UK. The process and messaging of alerts need to be updated to reflect the latest evidence from the World Health Organization. This was a key agenda item at my Clean Air and Health Summit on 17 February. GLA officers are now following up with Defra to enable our input into their review of air pollution information provision.

High Level Air Pollution Alerts

Hina Bokhari: Has any consideration been given to how to communicate the need for drastic action, e.g. for people to stop driving, when air pollution reaches dangerously high levels on a Sunday?

The Mayor: The recent Met Office alert in London highlighted the need for consistency across alert systems. Current public messaging does not strike the right balance between providing health guidance to those most vulnerable to pollution and encouraging all Londoners to adapt their behaviours to reduce pollution.
It is vital that we get our messaging correct and I am currently reviewing it to ensure it is effective and fair. This work needs to be coordinated with Defra and the Met Office because they are responsible for the Daily Air Quality Index (DAQI), which sets out the pollution banding and health advice used within our messaging. This is why I made this a central theme, with strong support from all attendees, at my recent Clean Air and Health Summit on 17 February.
In addition, I will continue to deliver overarching messaging on emissions as air quality should be addressed consistently and not just during high pollution episodes.

Fund for the resettlement of Hong Kongers (2)

Andrew Boff: Which civil society groups have you worked with to decide how the fund for the resettlement of Hong Kongers will be spent in London?

The Mayor: Improving social integration in London has been one of my main priorities since taking office. In accordance with my social integration strategy ‘All of Us’, the GLA has sought to base its Hong Kong BN(O) Integration Programme on community evidence and the lived experience of Hongkongers in the city.
For this reason, the GLA has been engaging with equity led Hongkonger civil society groups and organisations across the city, including Hongkongers in Britain, Hong Kong ARC, Hackney Chinese Community Services and Sutton Hongkongers, to better understand the most urgent community needs and the role the GLA can play in meeting these. Before designing an integration programme, my officers have undertaken an engagement exercise with surveys and focus groups of Hongkongers, and consulted with expert stakeholders in relevant fields, including UK Welcomes Refugees and Thrive London to assess, coordinate, and support the existing service offering and resources available to Hongkongers.

Traffic reduction policies in line with 2030 net zero modelling (3)

Zack Polanski: Your January 2022 report, London Net Zero 2030: An Updated Pathway, outlines the need for bolder action to reduce traffic by 27 per cent and thus reduce transport emissions by 2030. What changes are you implementing to reflect this in responses to local plans and planning applications by you and Transport for London (TfL) in order to highlight your pathway to 2030 and other national climate targets through your spatial planning powers?

The Mayor: The London Plan sets out ambitious transport policies including strict car parking standards, with car-free being the starting point in many places. The Plan encourages walking and cycling, including through the creation of Healthy Streets and cycle parking requirements. The Plan also seeks to focus growth in well-connected places, such as town centres and opportunity areas, which in turn will encourage active travel. My new draft Sustainable Transport, Walking and Cycling London Plan Guidance (LPG) sets out detailed requirements for Local Plans and applications, including making provision for cycling and walking routes in boroughs’ Local Plans.
The London Plan will not be updated in my second term, but my officers are already looking at incorporating my target as part of the Planning for London programme. In the meanwhile, my officers will consider my 2030 target when they respond to London boroughs’ local plans and highlight London Plan policies and the LPG with boroughs and applicants.
While the planning system has an important role to play, other measures such as the Ultra Low Emission Zone are crucial in reducing carbon emissions. It is also vital that Government provide a long-term funding settlement for TfL, to support Good Growth and ensure London contributes to achieving national climate targets.

Obesity Strategy and Eating Disorder Strategy

Andrew Boff: How are policy departments at City Hall working together so that Obesity strategy does not work at cross purposes with the eating disorder strategy?

The Mayor: I am committed to a health in all policies approach that considers and prioritises health and wellbeing across the social, economic and environmental factors impacting London. This means working with teams across the GLA to ensure that health and wellbeing are part of everything we do. This is why health and wellbeing is one of the cross-cutting principles of our Recovery Programme. In particular, the Mental Health and Wellbeing, and Healthy Place, Healthy Weight recovery missions meet regularly to discuss cross-cutting themes, programmes and specific issues like eating disorders.
Working together across policy departments and all of London’s health and care system is the only way in which we will tackle our city’s most complex health and care challenges. Through the Healthy Place, Healthy Weight recovery mission, colleagues and partners remain aware of and sensitive to language being used, focusing on the importance of creating healthy local environments with multiple benefits, rather than on individual behaviour change.

Particulate Matter Monitoring Stations

Hina Bokhari: Are you satisfied with the number of particulate matter (PM) monitoring stations in London, specifically for PM2.5?

The Mayor: London has one of the most comprehensive air quality monitoring networks of any global city. London has the highest number of highest-quality reference monitors of any city in the UK and air quality is constantly monitored at over 120 locations, with 52 automatic reference monitors measuring PM2.5 across 22 boroughs.
Historically there have been fewer PM2.5 monitors as the focus was on pollutants which exceeded the legal limits, such as nitrogen dioxide and PM10. However, as PM2.5 is the pollutant most associated with health effects, my London Local Air Quality Management Framework encourages boroughs to increase PM2.5 monitoring to monitor progress against the WHO PM2.5 guideline which I have committed to meet by 2030. As a result, the number of PM2.5 monitors increased by 49 per cent between 2016 and 2020. My Breathe London Network also supplements the reference monitoring network with low-cost sensors, with 277 currently installed across London that monitor PM2.5.
I will continue to work with the boroughs to improve the provision of real-time air quality data, including for PM2.5.

Nitrogen Dioxide Monitoring Stations

Hina Bokhari: Are you satisfied with the number of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) monitoring stations in London?

The Mayor: London has one of the most comprehensive air quality monitoring networks of any global city, and the highest number of monitoring stations of any city in the UK. In terms of the highest-quality reference monitoring, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is constantly monitored by reference analysers at 127 locations. This is an increase of 15% from 2016 to 2020. In 2020 there were also 1,699 locations measuring NO2 using passive diffusion tubes. My Breathe London Network also supplements the reference monitoring network with low-cost sensors, with 277 currently installed across London monitoring NO2.
I will continue to work with the boroughs to improve the provision of real-time air quality data, including for NO2.

Adult Literacy Rates by Borough

Andrew Boff: Please could you provide a breakdown of adult literacy rates in London by borough for each year since 2016?

The Mayor: There is no data for adult literacy post-2016 for London, or elsewhere in England. The most recent data on adult literacy rates in England comes from the Skills for Life Survey, which was last carried out in 2011 and commissioned by the then Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
Since delegation of the Adult Education Budget to the Mayor of London in 2019/20, we can report the number of learners accessing basic English courses in London, with breakdowns by level and geography. In 2020/21 (full academic year data for London), 25,120 learners enrolled in 32,250 English (literacy) learning courses, and 36,430 learners enrolled in 73,090 ESOL (language) qualifications. AEB data are published on the London Datastore and the most recent release covers delivery from August 2020 to July 2021.

PM2.5 Monitoring Stations (1)

Hina Bokhari: How many PM2.5 monitoring stations do you expect to be installed in London by the end of 2022?

The Mayor: Please see the answer to 2022/0577

Eating Disorders and Social Media

Andrew Boff: Social Media companies have a duty of responsibility to ensure that their platforms are safe for people of all ages. Over the last few years we are seeing more and more “wellness influencers” sharing dangers fitness and diet advice which individuals are using. In some cases, this has triggered extremely unhealthy relationships with food and exercise. What can the Mayor do to ensure that this is being monitored in London so that only accurate information is being shared?

The Mayor: All Londoners should be able to benefit from an environment – both physical and online – that support their health and wellbeing.
Reports that social media trends are contributing to Londoners developing eating disorders are deeply concerning.
Through my Health Inequalities Strategy I have committed to Londoners having an equal opportunity to good mental health and wellbeing and knowledge of support. Last year I invested £70,000 in expanding Good Thinking’s digital mental health support offer to young Londoners, which includes information, advice and support for young people, parents and carers affected by an eating disorder. I am also ensuring that London’s Youth Mental Health First Aiders are offered supplementary training around eating disorders and other conditions through supplementary training.
We know from the vaccine rollout how dangerous misinformation can be, especially for Londoners who may experience greater risk to their health and wellbeing. It is vital that Londoners have access to accurate and trusted information and I will raise this issue in my next conversation with London’s Health and Care leaders.

Child Registration Fee for Citizenship

Joanne McCartney: The UK child registration fee for citizenship is over £1,000 for each child, one of the highest in Europe, as highlighted by Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP's campaign on this issue. What work have you been doing to persuade the Government to reduce or eliminate these fees, given the high number of registrations in London and your previous work in encouraging Londoners to access citizenship?

The Mayor: It is unacceptable that children are excluded from accessing UK citizenship due to the exorbitant fees charged by the Home Office. I continue to urge the Government to cut for-profit immigration and citizenship fees and reinstate legal aid for children’s immigration cases.
I have invested unprecedented amounts into immigration advice so that young Londoners can secure their citizenship rights. This includes £298,000 for local authorities in London to identify and support children and young people in their care to resolve their immigration needs and access citizenship. I have contributed £510,000 to the Justice Together Initiative to expand access to immigration advice and representation across London, and a further £24,000 towards the Citizenship Payment Plan, a programme providing interest-free loans for families of eligible children to cover the costs of citizenship applications. I have also developed bespoke guidance for young Londoners with insecure status available on London.gov.uk

Afghan Refugee Housing

Sem Moema: What extra support can you provide to boroughs to help Afghan refugees? There have been worrying reports that families are asking councils for emergency accommodation.

The Mayor: I am determined to continue work alongside partners, including London boroughs to ensure Afghan arrivals establish a long-term future in our city and am proud of what we have achieved so far.
My team continues to work with boroughs to support rehousing efforts and meet the needs of evacuees in bridging hotels. Through ongoing engagement with a Task and Finish group chaired by London Councils and regular meetings with senior Home Office officials, officers have helped escalate the issue of families seeking emergency support and distribute letters about housing options to Afghan arrivals. My social integration team continues to challenge and address policy gaps, including successfully ensuring British nationals evacuated have access to resettlement routes.
My housing team continues to work with councils to explore how the GLA can support rehousing of Afghan arrivals, including through my Right To Buy-back fund. The GLA currently has agreements with two boroughs – Hounslow and Islington - to deliver a total of 40 homes for Afghan refugees, and further discussions are taking place with other boroughs across London. My team is also liaising with Registered Provider partners to understand how they can contribute to rehousing efforts.

City Hall Owned Developer

Sem Moema: Can you update me on the progress being made for the creation of a City Hall owned property developer which was promised in your manifesto?

The Mayor: My manifesto included a commitment to commission an independent review to streamline housing development across the GLA Group and to pilot a City Hall developer. In October 2021, I commissioned Lord Kerslake to undertake a Review of GLA Group Housing Delivery. The purpose of this review is to identify ways to maximise the supply of housing – particularly genuinely affordable housing – on GLA Group land.
It is prudent to await the outcome of Lord Kerslake’s independent review so that its recommendations can inform the detailed work required to progress the City Hall developer pilot. As previously advised in MQ2021/4972, Lord Kerslake’s review is well underway and its findings will be published early this year.

Ambient Loop Systems (7)

Andrew Boff: Do you agree that the final Energy Assessment Guidance should include a clear and precise definition of ambient loop systems (distinguishing from e.g. low temperature heat networks or ultra-low temperature heat networks) so that there is no ambiguity when discussing these technologies?

The Mayor: The aim of the draft Energy Assessment Guidance is to explain how to prepare an energy strategy that accompanies a planning application to ensure compliance with London Plan policies SI 2 - 4. We keep the guidance under regular review to account for new and emerging technologies and will consider this suggestion as we prepare any future guidance updates.

Let’s Do London

Marina Ahmad: Is there a one-stop shop in which Londoners can find all the events happening in the Let’s Do London programme, with a map to show events near you? If not, can this be created?

The Mayor: My Let’s Do London campaign has brought in an additional £70 million in spending to central London and 280,000 visitors.
For each season of the campaign, London & Partners has promoted all Let’s Do London events on the Visit London website and app, as well as including and promoting other activities with the aim of encouraging Londoners and visitors back into central London. Visit London provided access to audiences outside of and across London and a ready-made platform to promote all Let’s Do London activity and other events to encourage Londoners and domestic visitors back into central London.

National Insurance increase

Marina Ahmad: What would the impact of the National Insurance rise be on Londoners, especially the poorest Londoners?

The Mayor: Please see Mayor’s Question 2021/4108 for estimates of the total increase in tax revenue across all London households.
Analysis by the Centre for Microsimulation and Policy Analysis suggests that, nationally, disposable income will fall by 1% in 2022 due to the National Insurance increase – a loss of £355 per family on average. However, only 15% of households in the poorest decile will pay more tax with the burden falling more heavily on better-off households.
However, any loss of income at all for those in the poorest deciles will effect their ability to meet basic living costs, particularly when combined with the effects of other policies like the energy price cap rise and below-inflation increases to benefits from April.
Low-income Londoners are more likely to be affected by the rise compared to those in other regions due to a higher proportion earning over the minimum threshold for contributions (due to higher average pay in the capital).

Engagement with Older Londoners

Caroline Pidgeon: What ways are you engaging with older Londoners to help shape the work of the London Recovery Board and to ensure the vision for London to be an Age Friendly City becomes a reality?

The Mayor: The views of older Londoners are actively sought and heard as part of the London Recovery Programme – and my work more widely.
The London Recovery Board’s structural inequality action plan was co-produced with groups representing communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, including the London Age-Friendly Forum.
A fifth of grants awarded for social action projects through the community-led recovery programme were for projects reflecting the experiences of older people through the pandemic. My Civil Society Roots Incubator supported 22 community-led partnerships, including Sutton Vision, Merton Vision and the Greater London Forum for Older People. Civil Society Roots 3 launched in February, supporting communities affected by structural inequality including older Londoners.
My Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Group includes representatives appointed for their expertise on issues affecting older Londoners. The group is collectively represented on the London Recovery Board by two members and my Deputy Mayor Debbie Weekes-Bernard. Cllr Ruth Dombey acts as a champion for older people on the board.
I will continue to engage with older Londoners in fulfilling my commitment to make London an age-friendly city for everyone.

Nationality and Borders Bill

Hina Bokhari: What representations have you made to the Government and the Home Office on behalf of Londoners with regards to the divisive Nationality and Borders Bill?

The Mayor: The Nationality and Border Bill, alongside the New Plan for Immigration, will make changes to the immigration system that will negatively and disproportionately impact London. I have briefed Parliamentarians at various stages of the Bill and submitted a detailed consultation response on the New Plan for Immigration. My officials continue to escalate concerns with Home Office officials to mitigate the impact of this legislation in London.
In particular, I have expressed concern about the introduction of a ‘two-tiered’ approach to asylum, reducing protection for some refugees by offering a more time-limited leave to remain and imposing the no recourse to public funds (NRPF) condition. These policies will mean that people who have been granted sanctuary are left at risk of destitution and unable to access a welfare safety net. The legislation will also create further barriers to identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery and reduce existing protections that victims have.

Spring Statement

Marina Ahmad: What does London need to see in the Government’s Spring Statement?

The Mayor: The Government needs to invest in the capital in the upcoming Spring Statement, as when London succeeds, the whole country benefits. The success of London is critical to the national recovery effort and to levelling-up parts of the country that have been left behind for too long.
I hope to see the Chancellor announce a further package of measures to support London’s businesses, especially in those sectors which have been most impacted by the pandemic, such as retail, leisure and hospitality.
It is clear the Government must also come forward with the long-term funding TfL desperately needs so we can keep services running and deliver much-needed improvements to our transport infrastructure.
London has the highest levels of deprivation in the country and so the Government needs to step up and take action to respond to the spiralling cost of living, which is hitting Londoners hard, especially those from the poorest households.

Air pollution in Ealing and Hillingdon (1)

Onkar Sahota: What have the average levels of pollution been around Ealing Broadway in 2019, 2020 and 2021?

The Mayor: The London Borough of Ealing monitors nitrogen dioxide (NO2) by diffusion tube at three sites in the vicinity of Ealing Broadway: EA25 at 12 Bond Street; EA26 at 8 Spring Bridge Road, and EA28 at 41-42 Haven Green.
Appendix 1 gives the monitoring results. In 2016 all 3 sites were in exceedance of the annual legal limit, with site EA26 also exceeding the indicative threshold for exceeding the hourly limit. Due to the action I have taken on air pollution since 2016, there was an average 33% reduction at all sites between 2016 and 2020, with two out of three sites meeting the annual legal limit in 2020 and site EA26 only slightly exceeding it. The GLA does not yet have the data for 2021. The borough will finalise this data and submit it later this year.
All of Ealing’s air quality monitoring results are available on the council’s website: https://www.ealing.gov.uk/info/201199/air_quality

The Mayor: MQ0699 Appendix 1_CB.docx

Ambient Loop Systems (3)

Andrew Boff: Can you acknowledge that the classification of ambient loop systems with individual heat pumps units as individual heating systems is not appropriate as there are solutions in this category which can connect to a district heat network?

The Mayor: No. My officers have been in dialogue with the manufacturers of the Zeroth Energy System which has individual heat pump units, but have not yet been supplied with the evidence that addresses the concerns outlined in our response to Mayor’s Question 2022/0750. The net zero carbon target set out in the London Plan requires high levels of energy efficiency to be achieved as well as the use of innovative low carbon and renewable technologies to help Londoners reduce their energy use and carbon emissions.

Thrive LDN’s ‘Right to Thrive’ grants scheme

Onkar Sahota: Are there plans to renew Thrive LDN’s ‘Right to Thrive’ grants scheme?

The Mayor: I have funded Thrive LDN’s Right to Thrive grant scheme since it was established in 2020. In the years since, grants have been given to community and grassroots mental health projects with and for London’s racialised or minoritised communities.
This year’s scheme, named the Right to Thrive Innovation Fund, was launched in November 2021. It has awarded grants totalling £120,000 to 14 innovative community and grassroots projects across London.
These projects are ongoing, having commenced in early 2022. They aim to support the mental health and wellbeing of those experiencing higher levels of unfair treatment and address recommendations set out in the Pandemic Stories report by Toynbee Hall.
Support for these communities will continue to be central to Thrive LDN’s work. Future planning for how we build upon initiatives that deliver this ambition is currently underway.

Thrive Community Pilots Scheme

Onkar Sahota: Can you provide an update on the Thrive Community Pilots and in which London neighbourhoods they have been set up in so far?

The Mayor: In 2017/18, I funded Thrive LDN to deliver 17 community workshops with over 1,000 Londoners in partnership with The Mental Health Foundation, known as Thrive Community Pilots. Two reports followed: Londoners Said (2018) which shared a summary of these conversations and resulting recommendations, and Londoners Did (2020). The latter provides an insight into the impact these conversations have had - reporting on the partnerships, pilots and projects delivering real change in their communities. Both reports contain case studies of local action across London’s neighbourhoods.
The work concluded that community conversations lead to action: better relationships between people and institutions, the development of a network of champions, new job roles, and volunteering opportunities. It also changed local plans and strategies. For instance, public health and planning teams working together to design high quality community space. In Hackney, support information resources were developed for people facing major life changes, such as births, bereavement and marriage, which the evidence suggests can make people more vulnerable to mental ill health.

LFB Transformation Delivery Plan in North East London

Sem Moema: What recent steps have been taken to deliver the LFB’s Transformation Delivery Plan in Islington, Hackney, and Waltham Forest, including engagement with local crews on addressing equipment and training needs?

The Mayor: Delivery of London Fire Brigade’s Transformation Delivery Plan (TDP) has been coordinated centrally to ensure it is delivered across the Brigade. Borough Commanders can then tailor conversations with local crews in line with their knowledge of individual fire stations and the borough’s needs. Work to deliver the TDP at borough level includes the provision of leadership development workshops, a computer-based trainingpackage on Neurodiversity, and Equality and Diversity training. This work has also involved training on the new and revised policies on high-rise firefighting, evacuation procedure and managing fire survival guidance calls. The Brigade has also provided training to firefighters as part of the new integration of Command Units which includes engagement with crews on addressing equipment and training needs. This work is underpinned by new initiatives such as ‘Talking Points’ – a briefing which is prepared each month on a Brigade-wide matter and which Borough Commanders can use to update staff at local level and facilitate conversations with crews that can then be fed back to the Transformation team.

Thrive LDN ‘Time to Thrive’ programme

Onkar Sahota: How many state schools in London have been offered youth mental health first aid training so far as part of Thrive LDN’s ‘Time to Thrive’ programme? Can this also be broken down by borough?

The Mayor: Since October 2018, Thrive LDN has been supporting young Londoners’ Mental Health through the partnership with Mental Health First Aid England to deliver free Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training to schools and youth sector organisations. As part of this partnership, all state schools in London have been offered YMHFA training with almost 4,000 spaces taken up by education and youth staff across all London boroughs.
Time to Thrive was one of Thrive LDN’s initial programmes, which has now developed into Right to Thrive. Right to Thrive aims to support the mental health and wellbeing of those experiencing higher levels of unfair treatment.

Trans Londoners Health Inequalities

Andrew Boff: Do you recognise that it was an oversight not to include the health inequalities of trans Londoners in your health inequalities strategy and will you be rectifying this in your next strategy?

The Mayor: Thank you for the Committee’s continued championing of trans Londoners. My Heath Inequalities Strategy (HIS), and the recently published implementation plan focus on the social, economic and environmental issues which drive differences in health. A great deal of the HIS supports trans Londoners, including policies and programmes around mental health and HIV prevention and treatment. The HIS is a strategy for all Londoners, and it is not possible in such a broad-ranging strategy to specifically identify all groups with protected characteristics. The HIS was and continues to be informed through engagement with Londoners from many different backgrounds, including trans and non-binary Londoners. This includes roundtables held to inform “Beyond the Data One Year On” and throughout the pandemic as part of the London Community Response Survey. I also engage trans stakeholders through my Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Group which includes specific expertise on trans issues, including relating to health.

Ambient Loop Systems (5)

Andrew Boff: Do you recognise that, by excluding ambient loop systems with individual heat pumps that can connect to a district heat network, it is a missed opportunity to further the aims of the London Plan including promoting uptake of heat networks?

The Mayor: No. The London Plan heat hierarchy (policy SI 3) prioritises connection to district heat networks for developments in heat network priority areas. The decarbonisation and expansion of these networks support the capacity and resilience of the wider energy system and will play an important part of achieving our net zero target. The guidance supports the use of ambient loop systems except for one specific scenario: systems with individual heat pumps in heat network priority areas where there is potential to connect to a district heat network. For further information see the response to Mayor’s Question 2022/0752.

Ambient Loop Systems (6)

Andrew Boff: Can you commit to amending the draft Energy Assessment Guidance for final publication to allow for the use of ambient loop systems in heat network priority areas, so long as they can connect?

The Mayor: The aim of the draft Energy Assessment Guidance is to explain how to prepare an energy strategy that accompanies a planning application to ensure compliance with London Plan policies SI 2 - 4. The guidance does support the use of ambient loop systems in heat network priority areas. It does not support the use of ambient loop systems using individual heat pumps in each apartment where there is potential to connect to a district heat network. This is due to the issues outlined in the response to Mayor’s Question 2022/0750.

Number of young people helped by the Young Londoners Fund

Caroline Russell: At the People’s Question Time (PQT) meeting on 3 February 2022, you said that 86,000 young people had been helped by the Young Londoners Fund (YLF). Could you tell me: a) how much money from the YLF has been spent in each borough since the fund’s creation, and b) how many young people were helped in each borough?

The Mayor: Since my Young Londoners Fund (YLF) was created in 2018, I have invested £32,076,255 to date across all London boroughs through two rounds of funding to help support young people. You can see a breakdown of each borough’s spending in the accompanying document and a list of YLF projects by borough.
You can see a list of how many young people have been helped in each borough in the accompanying document. Please note that some young participants do not disclose which borough they live in. My young Londoners fund is now forecast to exceed its target of supporting 100,000 by December 2022.
A full list of projects funded by my Young Londoners Fund (including existing City Hall projects which were scaled up) can be found here Young Londoners Fund Projects - London Datastore

The Mayor: MQ 2022-0507 YLF Borough Data.docx

Ambient Loop Systems (8)

Andrew Boff: Will you acknowledge that the current wording of the draft Energy Assessment Guidance, in rejecting ambient loop systems, excludes a viable innovative solution and that the London Plan should be amended to ensure that future guidance allows for the use of other such low carbon innovations?

The Mayor: No. The aim of the draft Energy Assessment Guidance is to explain how to prepare an energy strategy that accompanies a planning application to ensure compliance with London Plan policies SI 2 - 4. The current guidance does not reject ambient loop systems. It supports communal ambient loop systems, and also supports ambient loop systems with individual heat pumps where there is no potential to connect to a district heat network.

Ambient Loop Systems (1)

Andrew Boff: Do you acknowledge that Section 9.11 of the draft Energy Assessment Guidance supporting the new London Plan excludes the use of ambient loop systems with individual heat pumps units in heat network priority areas, because they are regarded as individual heating systems which cannot connect to a district heat network?

The Mayor: The London Plan sets a net zero carbon target which is resulting in highly efficient buildings that utilise innovative low carbon heat and renewable technologies. Referable developments meeting London Plan policy in 2020 achieved a carbon reduction of 46.2% more than national building regulations.
The guidance supports the use of ambient loop systems except for one specific scenario: systems with individual heat pumps in heat network priority areas where there is potential to connect to a district heat network. This is due to the complexity and inefficiencies associated with the temperature differential between the ambient loop and the district heat network, and concern that the additional cost of supplying heat this way would be passed onto the consumer.
Given high energy prices, I will not approve approaches that could be inefficient and further increase energy bills. I expect developers of new sites to work with local heat network operators in developing appropriate energy strategies.

Ambient Loop Systems (2)

Andrew Boff: Do you acknowledge that the use of the blanket term “ambient loop systems” is excluding innovative solutions which can connect to a district heat network, such as the innovative Zeroth Energy System, which is capable of offering energy savings of more than 60% when compared to higher temperature alternatives and significantly reducing overheating in tall buildings, therefore contributing to aims of the London Plan 2021?

The Mayor: No. The GLA’s draft Energy Assessment Guidance does not prevent the use of ambient loop systems, only systems using individual heat pumps in heat network priority areas where there is potential to connect to a district heat network. This is for the reasons outlined in the response to Mayor’s Question 2022/0750.
All major applications are required to follow the London Plan cooling hierarchy to reduce and mitigate against the risk of overheating.
The London Plan sets an ambitious net zero carbon target for major development which is resulting in highly efficient buildings that utilise innovative low carbon heat and renewable technologies.

Live Facial Recognition deployment in January 2022 (2)

Caroline Russell: With reference to the Live Facial Recognition (LFR) deployment in Westminster on 28 January 2022, could you tell me: a) which watchlist was used, b) how many individuals were on the watchlist, c) how many faces were scanned, d) how many alerts there were, and e) how many false positives were found?

The Mayor: A bespoke list, consisting of wanted violent and serious offenders and those with outstanding arrest warrants issued by the courts, was authorised for use on 28 January 2022. 9756 individuals were included on the list. It is estimated that 12,120 faces were detected. There was a total of 11 alerts on the LFR system, with 1 confirmed false alert (equating to a false alert rate of 0.008 per cent).
Deployment records are published on the MPS website: https://www.met.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/media/downloads/force-content/met/advice/lfr/deployment-records/lfr-deployment-grid.pdf.

Ambient Loop Systems (4)

Andrew Boff: Do you recognise that where they can connect to a district heat network, ambient loop systems with individual heat pumps do offer significant benefits aligned with the aims of the London Plan, including in terms of energy savings and avoiding overheating?

The Mayor: Please see the response to Mayor’s Question 2022/0752.

Levelling-Up Fund (2)

Marina Ahmad: How does London benefit from the Government’s Levelling-Up Fund in comparison to other regions?

The Mayor: London received the smallest allocation of any region from Round 1 of the Levelling Up Fund – a total of £65m across six projects. The smallest regional allocation outside of London, went to the East of England which received £87m for five projects. The largest regional allocation went to the North West, which received £232 million in total for 12 projects. See appendix 1 for detailed breakdown by regions.

Levelling-Up Fund (1)

Marina Ahmad: How does London benefit from the Government’s Levelling-Up Fund? Can this be broken down by London borough?

The Mayor: Six London projects were awarded £65 million in total (or 3.8%) of a total £1.7bn from Levelling Up Fund Round 1 allocation. See appendix 1 for detailed breakdown by local authority area.
Local authority
Bid name
Bid value
Brent
Carlton and Granville Centres
£7,750,000
Ealing
Northolt (Multi-Modal) Travel Scheme
£7,231,500
Newham
Connecting to Opportunity
£19,818,092
Newham
Newham 15 Minute Neighbourhoods
£19,959,000
Tower Hamlets
Whitechapel Road (Improvement Programme)
£9,337,562
Wandsworth
Nine Elms (Music Education Centre)
£800,000
£64,896,154

Delivering Street Trees in Lambeth and Southwark

Marina Ahmad: Do you have plans to deliver urban greening schemes in Lambeth and Southwark? What steps have been taken to deliver street trees in Lambeth and Southwark?

The Mayor: Since 2016, I have supported the planting of 7,074 trees in Lambeth and 6,080 in Southwark. This includes trees planted by local authorities, environmental organisations, community groups and Londoners.
In 2019, I secured a grant from the Forestry Commission’s Urban Tree Challenge Fund (UTCF) to plant new street trees in areas of low canopy cover. This supported the planting of 323 new street trees in Lambeth and 151 in Southwark between 2019 and 2022. I recently secured a second round of UTCF, which will support a further 130 street trees in Lambeth and 108 in Southwark by March 2023.
In addition, between 2018 and 2022 I have supported 28 green space projects in Lambeth and 23 in Southwark through my Greener City Fund and Grow Back Greener grants. Projects include tree-planting and the creation of a new community garden in Bermondsey and support for gardens and forest school spaces in Brixton and West Norwood. Further greening projects through my Green & Resilient Spaces and Rewild London Funds will be announced later this spring. Please see MQ 2022/0616

Rewilding Lambeth and Southwark

Marina Ahmad: What recent steps have been taken to distribute rewilding funds to local authorities and civil society organisations in Lambeth and Southwark to support projects that improve biodiversity in our parks and green spaces?

The Mayor: Since becoming Mayor, I have awarded £906,046 from my green infrastructure funding programmes to projects in Lambeth and £567,556 to projects in Southwark. These projects create or improve green spaces for people and wildlife. The funding includes awards from my current “Grow Back Greener” funding round which is available to civil society organisations and local authorities.
Projects in these boroughs include support to communities in Kennington to enhance green spaces within housing estates; the creation of new orchards in four Lambeth schools; support for gardens and forest school spaces in Brixton and West Norwood; and tree-planting and the creation of a new community garden in Bermondsey.
Applications for my new £600,000 Rewild London Fund have now closed. My officers are currently assessing the applications received and will inform applicants of the outcome shortly.

Kitchen Social Scheme (2)

Marina Ahmad: How many children have been provided with food or other activities through the Kitchen Social scheme? Please state numbers by London borough.

The Mayor: Kitchen Social is a programme run by the Mayor’s Fund for London that addresses the growing and serious issue of children and young people facing food insecurity and social isolation outside of term time. The programme gives children and young people a safe place to go during the school holidays where they can socialise, make new friends and get a free, healthy meal.
Since 2017, 68,347 children have been supported through the Kitchen Social Scheme.
The breakdown by London borough is as per the attached spreadsheet.

The Mayor: MQ 2022-0610 Kitchen Social_2_Children by Borough 2017-2021.xlsx

Healthy Start Vouchers

Marina Ahmad: What is the current uptake of Healthy Start Vouchers in London? Can this be broken down by borough? How does this compare to previous years?

The Mayor: The uptake of Healthy Start vouchers by eligible families has decreased substantially over the past few years. Data shows that in February 2021, only 52 per cent of eligible women and families in London were receiving Healthy Start vouchers. This compares to 67 per cent in February 2016.
Borough-level breakdowns of uptake data for the paper vouchers scheme is published on the NHS Healthy Start page – www.healthystart.nhs.uk/healthcare-professionals/

LFB Transformation Delivery Plan in Lambeth and Southwark

Marina Ahmad: What recent steps have been taken to deliver the London Fire Brigade’s Transformation Delivery Plan in Lambeth and Southwark, including engagement with local crews on addressing equipment and training needs?

The Mayor: Delivery of London Fire Brigade’s Transformation Delivery Plan (TDP) has been coordinated centrally to ensure it is delivered across the Brigade. Borough Commanders can then tailor conversations with local crews in line with their knowledge of individual fire stations and the borough’s needs. Work to deliver the TDP at borough level includes the provision of leadership development workshops, a computer-based trainingpackage on Neurodiversity, and Equality and Diversity training. This work has also involved training on the new and revised policies on high-rise firefighting, evacuation procedure and managing fire survival guidance calls. The Brigade has also provided training to firefighters as part of the new integration of Command Units which includes engagement with crews on addressing equipment and training needs. This work is underpinned by new initiatives such as ‘Talking Points’ – a briefing which is prepared each month on a Brigade-wide matter and which Borough Commanders can use to update staff at local level and facilitate conversations with crews that can then be fed back to the Transformation team.

Fuel Duty Paid By London Drivers

Nicholas Rogers: Please give an estimate of the amount of fuel duty paid by London’s drivers.

The Mayor: Neither Transport for London (TfL) nor the Greater London Authority holds this information. Fuel duty is collected by the UK Government and data on this is not readily published. Unlike Vehicle Exercise Duty (VED), it is not a rate per vehicle, but a proportion of each litre of fuel (currently 58 pence petrol and diesel). This has been frozen since 2011/12. In 2019/20 it raised £28bn. This revenue is not ring-fenced for any specific use.

Fund for the resettlement of Hong Kongers (1)

Andrew Boff: Please will you provide a breakdown of how the fund for the resettlement of Hong Kongers in London has and will be spent?

The Mayor: I welcomed the British government’s decision to introduce a new immigration route for Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas) status holders to settle in the UK, following the imposition of the National Security Law by the Chinese government in July 2020. Between January and September 2021, 88,000 applications were submitted for the visa.
In April 2021, the government granted £917,000 to the GLA to establish a ‘welcome hub’ for BN(O) arrivals, co-ordinate practical advice and improve access to services for the community. Phase one of this programme was agreed in Mayoral Decision MD2831, allocating funding to build capacity and provide a strong evidence base to meet the urgent needs of BN(O) arrivals. A second phase will include the development of culturally appropriate and trauma-informed mental health resources, provision to build the capacity of local authorities to coordinate support to new arrivals, and further cultivation of Hong Kong-led civil society to meet community needs.

VED-Paying Vehicles In London

Nicholas Rogers: Please give an estimate of the number of vehicles in London which are eligible to pay Vehicle Excise Duty for every year as far back as records go.

The Mayor: The data in the table below for 2010, 2015 and 2020 is provided by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). It contains the number of vehicles registered to addresses within the Greater London Authority area, not the number circulating in general traffic. The most recent data currently held by Transport for London (TfL) is for 2020. The table provides a breakdown of vehicles subject to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) by vehicle type. VED is levied at the appropriate rate depending on vehicle specification. Please note, some vehicle types have VED rated at zero, such as electric vehicles and historic vehicles.
Type
2010
2015
2020
Car & Private Hire Vehicle
2,793,923
2,923,553
2,921,478
Light Goods Vehicle
234,477
241,365
231,374
Heavy Goods Vehicle
25,148
26,191
23,863
Bus & coach
10,696
12,569
11,241
2&3 wheels & Quads
140,648
145,957
135,446
Taxi
with cars
with cars
13,700

Young Londoners Funding throughout North East London

Sem Moema: How much of the Young Londoners Fund has been invested in Islington, Hackney, and Waltham Forest in each of the last five years? How many organisations in North East London have received support from initiatives delivered through the Young Londoners Fund?

The Mayor: How much of the Young Londoners Fund has been invested in Islington, Hackney, and Waltham Forest in each of the last five years? How many organisations in North East London have received support from initiatives delivered through the Young Londoners Fund?
I have invested a total of £3,392,362 to date through Round 1 and Round 2 of Young Londoners Fund (YLF) grant funding in Islington (£1,446,993), Hackney (£1,100,966) and Waltham Forest (£844,403) in 31 organisations delivering positive activities for young people (with more than 30% of delivery to young people from one of these boroughs). Round 1 YLF projects were delivered between 2018 and 2021 and Round 2 projects delivered between 2019 and 2022. Grant payments are made on a milestone basis across the project lifetime. A list of these projects is attached.
A full list of projects funded by my Young Londoners Fund (including existing City Hall projects which were scaled up) can be found here Young Londoners Fund Projects - London Datastore

The Mayor: MQ 2022-0689 North East London Table.docx

Rewilding North East London

Sem Moema: What recent steps have you taken to rewild North East London? I am eager to know what plans you have to distribute rewilding funds to local authorities and civil society organisations in North East London to support projects that showcase innovative or strategic approaches to improving our parks, green spaces, and biodiversity.

The Mayor: Since becoming Mayor, I have awarded £244,395 from my green infrastructure funding programmes to projects in Islington, £1,036,163 to projects in Hackney and £272,212 to projects in Waltham Forest to improve or create green spaces for people and wildlife. This includes innovative projects to help London adapt to climate change, such as the Wardle Street Project in Hackney, which has introduced a community orchard, a new meadow and a green wall.
I am also supporting Islington Council through officer support and £75,000 of funding from a UK Future Parks Accelerator pilot. This develops strategic approaches to maximise therole that green spaces can play inimproving social cohesion,reducing health inequalitiesand isolation, and improvingphysicalandmental health.
Applications for my new £600,000 “Rewild London Fund” have now closed. My officers are currently assessing the applications received and will inform applicants of the outcome of their bids shortly.

Delivering Street Trees in North East London

Sem Moema: What recent steps have you taken to deliver urban greening schemes and street trees in North East London? What plans do you have to deliver street trees in Islington, Hackney, and Waltham Forest?

The Mayor: Since 2016, I’ve supported the planting of 3,303 trees in Islington, 6,989 in Hackney and 3,719 in Waltham Forest. This includes trees planted by the local authorities, environmental organisations, community groups and Londoners.
In 2019, I secured a grant from the Forestry Commission’s Urban Tree Challenge Fund (UTCF) to plant new street trees in areas of low canopy cover. This supported the planting of 795 trees in Hackney between 2019-2022. I recently secured a second round of the UTCF, which will support 140 trees in Islington and 1,113 in Hackney. With my support, Waltham Forest secured a UTCF grant to plant 643 trees.
In addition to this, between 2018-2022 I have supported 16 green space projects in Islington, 20 in Hackney and 14 in Waltham Forest. Projects include the creation of a community orchard in Homerton; support for community growing and a rooftop garden in Crouch Hill; and the creation of green spaces and corridors in Walthamstow. Further greening projects through my Green & Resilient Spaces and Rewild London Funds will be announced later this spring. Please see MQ 2022/0616 (Rewilding Lambeth and Southwark).

Co-operative Housing (3)

Sem Moema: How is the GLA working with co-operatives to build homes on GLA and TfL land?

The Mayor: Please see Mayor’s Question 2022/0683 for information on how the Mayor is supporting co-operative housebuilding, including on GLA and TfL land.

Co-operative Housing (1)

Sem Moema: How many homes in London have been constructed by co-operatives since 2010? Can you provide a breakdown by year and by borough?

The Mayor: The GLA does not collect data on the number of homes built by housing co-operatives.

Co-operative Housing (2)

Sem Moema: What support can the GLA provide to housing co-operatives?

The Mayor: The Mayor’s Community Housing Fund offers support, including capital grant and revenue funding, to Londoners playing a positive role in solving their community housing need through the housing co-operative model. The fund totals £38m and will deliver 500 starts on site by April 2024.
Housig co-operatives can also use the services of the Community Led Housing London Hub. The Hub is funded by the Mayor’s Community Housing Fund and is hosted by CDS Co-operatives. It provides a range of services to co-operatives, including advice, signposting, site identification, and support with planning applications, fundraising and applications to the Community Housing Fund.
The Mayor’s small sites portal helps co-operatives to identify suitable sites to build homes, and clearly marks those suitable for community-led housing projects, such as housing co-operatives.
Around 100 of London’s housing co-operatives are Registered Providers of Social Housing, meaning they can apply for Affordable Homes Programme funding to build new social rent homes for their members.

Service Charge Charter (5)

Sem Moema: Further to MQ 2021/3458, are you able to provide me with an update as to when the research on service charge levels which the GLA is undertaking is due to be published?

The Mayor: Through the work to develop the new Service Charges Charter, my housing team worked closely with leaseholders and providers. Part of this was collating available data on service charge levels.
As the data available only provides information about service charge levels for first lets of social housing and first sales of shared ownership, and these may change over time, it was deemed that the data would not allow for meaningful comparisons. Housing schemes also vary significantly in the communal services provided to residents; however, the nature of services themselves is not systematically quantified. One of the key principles of the Service Charges Charter is that prospective leaseholders should be provided with a transparent account of services and service standards provided, and a long-term estimate of their service charges that goes beyond warranty/defect periods – so that they are not faced with unexpected price increases.
DLUHC holds some data on service charges in its database known as CORE which is publicly accessible.

Tracking and documenting the impact of the new key worker list for priority housing

Siân Berry: Thank you for your answer to my question 2022/0076, which referred me to your answer to question 2022/0452. This answer refers to the key worker list, but it does not provide details of how the impact of the key worker list will be tracked and documented. What methods will you employ to track and document the impact of the new key worker list for priority housing?

The Mayor: By publishing a list of key workers, I am raising the profile of the vital role of key workers and encouraging landlords to prioritise them for affordable housing. The intended impact of my key worker list is that local authorities and housing providers reference and incorporate my key worker definition, for example through planning agreements made under specific planning permissions for intermediate housing in London. For London’s key workers, this should mean greater consistency in eligibility and prioritisation across boroughs and housing providers.
Lettings and sales transactions for thousands of affordable homes annually is tracked by the CORE dataset, which is managed by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. As confirmed in my intermediate housing consultation response, I am committed to working with government to expand CORE to collect information on occupation. If implemented, this will allow for a proportionate and robust picture of housing for London’s key workers.

Criteria for satisfactory progress with strategic estate regeneration projects

Siân Berry: Thank you for your answer to question 2022/0077, in which you refer to paragraph 8.6.27 of the GLA’s Capital Funding Guide. Could you provide the criteria for investment partners to show they are making ‘satisfactory progress’ with strategic estate regeneration projects?

The Mayor: An assessment of whether satisfactory progress has occurred is taken on a case by case basis, by the relevant member of my housing team working with investment partners. This approach recognises that the significant variation between projects and multiple barriers to delivery are not compatible with fixed criteria to demonstrate “satisfactory progress”.
This provision enables my team to avoid exactly the scenario about which you expressed concern in question 2022/0077 – that is, continued exemption for projects where providers have not progressed their plans.

Borough enforcement of the Decent Homes Standard

Siân Berry: Could you provide data on how many notices London borough councils have served on private landlords demanding that they bring poor quality properties up to the Decent Homes Standard? Could you provide this information in table format for each borough with data going back to 2016?

The Mayor: Private landlords are not currently required to ensure that their properties meet the Decent Homes Standard. However, I welcome proposals in the Levelling Up white paper to require private landlords to ensure this. Data on council enforcement against landlords is not held by the GLA.

2012 Olympic Games legacy goals

Siân Berry: What plans do you have to use the 2021 Census data to assess how the London Legacy Development Corporation has supported the Olympic boroughs to meet the original convergence goals, including those to reduce overcrowding on homes?

The Mayor: Following the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, socio-economic convergence was jointly monitored by the GLA and the six Growth Boroughs until 2016 when formal monitoring through the Growth Borough Convergence Unit ceased. There are therefore no plans to use the 2021 Census data in this way.
One of the original convergence goals was to develop successful neighbourhoods across the Growth Boroughs by working with them to increase the number of affordable homes and reduce overcrowding. To date, London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) has contributed to this by supporting the delivery of over 11,500 homes in its wider planning area, including 2,615 affordable homes. By 2036, LLDC aims to support the delivery of approximately 33,000 homes across the Legacy Corporation area.
This includes homes on LLDC-owned land. Once all schemes on LLDC-owned land are complete (by 2032), 5,774 homes will have been delivered – a minimum of 40% of which will be affordable housing (per unit) and approximately 64% of which will be family-sized homes (2Bed+).

Long-term street homelessness

Siân Berry: The latest CHAIN figures show a 19 per cent increase in people living long term on the street in Oct-Dec 2021, compared with the same period in 2020. What is your team doing in response to this increase?

The Mayor: It is deeply concerning that the number of people sleeping rough long term has increased. However, it is a testament to the success of our services in London that the overall number of people sleeping rough in the capital is now at its lowest in four years for the October to December period.
Many of my services, such as my Rapid Response Team and No Second Night Out, rightly focus on intervening as early as possible to ensure that as many people new to the street as possible do not go on to sleep rough in the longer term – and in 2020-21, 62 per cent of people seen sleeping rough in London did not spend a second night out.
But I am also focused on specific help for those living on the street longer-term. That is why I am working with partners on a new pan-London initiative to support people with the most extensive rough sleeping histories and the most complex needs. My team commissions St Mungo’s to work with 200 people in this group, navigating services and enabling people to move from the street into accommodation with support. I will also be seeking funding from the government’s Rough Sleeping Initiative for new and enhanced services to help even more people in this group. In addition, jointly with London Councils, my Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development is chairing the renewed Life Off the Streets group – a partnership of key stakeholders working together to address rough sleeping in the capital.

Young Londoners Fund Southwark

Marina Ahmad: Please provide a list of projects that have received funding in Southwark as part of the Young Londoners Fund since 2016.

The Mayor: My Young Londoners Fund (YLF) was established in 2018 and through Rounds 1 and 2 of the Young Londoners Fund, Southwark has received £1,654,823 of investment to date. Fourteen projects have received funding, delivering a range of activities and support to 3,624 young people since 2018. Please see the accompanying document listing all projects funded in Southwark as part of the Young Londoners Fund Rounds 1 and 2.
A full list of projects funded by my Young Londoners Fund (including existing City Hall projects which were scaled up) can be found here Young Londoners Fund Projects - London Datastore

The Mayor: MQ 2022-0606 Southwark Borough Data.docx

Increase to welfare support

Marina Ahmad: Do you agree with the Child Poverty Action Group and 30 other organisations that benefits should be increased by 6% in April to help with the increase in the cost of living, and will you write to the Chancellor to urge him to do this given your recent calls on the Government to take urgent steps to tackle the spiralling cost of living?

The Mayor: The Government’s decision to uprate benefits by 3.1% from April was based on estimates of inflation made last autumn. It’s vital they listen to the Child Poverty Action Group and other respected organisations and commit to increasing them further to align with the latest estimates.
Failure to do so will result in a 3% cut in income in real terms for those on the lowest incomes at the exact moment that substantial tax and energy price rises are due to come into force. And this all comes on the back of the removal of the £20 uplift to Universal Credit which was a lifeline for countless families during the worst of the pandemic.
I will be writing to the Chancellor on a range of issues concerning the cost of living crisis and will include this ask.

Young Londoners Fund Lambeth

Marina Ahmad: Please provide a list of projects that have received funding in Lambeth as part of the Young Londoners Fund since 2016.

The Mayor: My Young Londoners Fund (YLF) was established in 2018 and through Rounds 1 and 2 of the Young Londoners Fund, Lambeth has received £3,386,924 of investment to date. This funding has supported 24 projects providing a range of activities and support to 3,624 young people. Please note there may have been extra young people that have been helped but have not specified which borough they live in. Please see the accompanying document listing the projects funded in Lambeth as part of the Young Londoners Fund Rounds 1 and 2.
A full list of projects funded by my Young Londoners Fund (including existing City Hall projects which were scaled up) can be found here Young Londoners Fund Projects - London Datastore

The Mayor: MQ 2022-0605 Lambeth Borough data.docx

Period Poverty (1)

Marina Ahmad: With the cost of living increasing, many Londoners will fall into period poverty where they cannot afford essential sanitary products. What can you do to help tackle period poverty in London?

The Mayor: Like fuel poverty and food insecurity, period poverty is a specific manifestation of a situation whereby people lack the resources to meet a minimum set of needs. It disproportionately affects women and girls, damaging their ability to participate in social activities and putting their health at risk.
I am greatly concerned by the cost of living crisis and the pressure this is putting on Londoners - both those who were already struggling, and people who are now experiencing financial hardship for the first time. I have asked my officers to develop a robust response to support Londoners who are struggling to afford the essentials.
I welcome the fact that many hygiene products no longer have VAT charged on them. And I will continue to support efforts to extend the provision of free period products in public spaces wherever I can. For example, Mopac will continue to work with the Metropolitan Police Service’s detention unit to ensure all detainees are offered hygiene products whilst in custody.

Period Poverty (2)

Marina Ahmad: Will you work with organisations, workplaces and businesses in London to encourage them to provide free sanitary products in toilets to make this the norm across London?

The Mayor: No-one should have to go without basic hygiene products because they can’t afford them. Several London boroughs are leading excellent work to promote universal access to free sanitary products. I am aware of a number of boroughs adopting efforts to extend the provision of free products in public spaces, through pilots like the ‘P-Card’ scheme trialled in Lambeth, Southwark, Hackney and Barking and Dagenham, as well as the great work in Scotland where local authorities have a duty to provide universal access to period products.
I welcome the fact that many hygiene products no longer have VAT charged on them. And I will continue to support efforts to extend the provision of free period products in public spaces wherever I can. For example, Mopac will continue to work with the Metropolitan Police Service’s detention unit to ensure all detainees are offered hygiene products whilst in custody.

Eating Disorders – Awareness and Understanding

Andrew Boff: What can the Mayor do to ensure that all GPs and other front-line staff have an understanding of eating disorders? Too often people are being told they are "not thin enough" or "they don't look like they have an eating disorder" - both statements can be detrimental to that individual.

The Mayor: These are both deeply concerning statements.
Although I am not responsible for health and care services, including eating disorder treatment, I will continue to use my role as Mayor to call for equal and improved provision of and access to services across London. I continue to meet regularly with senior NHS leaders to champion and challenge them to provide the high-quality care Londoners deserve, including adherence to evidence-based guidance.
NHS England & Improvement and Healthy London Partnership are working with adult eating disorder (AED) services to ensure that AED pathways remove any barriers to access such as weight or BMI, and there are plans to remove BMI thresholds in 22/23.
My health advisor Dr Tom Coffey is himself a practising GP. He continues to endorse eating disorder guidelines for professionals, raising awareness of the signs of eating disorders, and how to support children and young people across different settings.

Food Poverty Action Plans

Marina Ahmad: Can you provide an update on the Food Poverty Action Plans in London and how they are supporting Londoners?

The Mayor: I supported ten local authorities to produce Food Poverty Action Plans in 2017-18 and 2018-19. These plans enabled local authorities to respond quickly to the pandemic and support Londoners experiencing food insecurity.
The learning and successes from these plans were shared with other local authorities and civil society organisations across London. For example, Southwark established a Food Action Alliance to promote actions within their plan including the delivery of universal free school meals and becoming a London Living Wage borough.
GLA officers have also informed the development of new action plans, recently presenting alongside the Chair of the London Food Board at Lewisham’s Food Poverty Summit.

Kitchen Social Scheme (1)

Marina Ahmad: How many children have been provided with food or other activities through the Kitchen Social scheme? Please state numbers by year.

The Mayor: Kitchen Social is a programme run by the Mayors Fund for London that addresses the growing and serious issue of children and young people facing food insecurity and social isolation outside of term time. The programme gives children and young people a safe place to go during the school holidays where they can socialise, make new friends and get a free, healthy meal.
Since 2017, 68,347 children have been supported and 95,8427 meals have been provided through the Kitchen Social Scheme.
The breakdown by year can be seen in the attached spreadsheet.

The Mayor: MQ 2022-0609 Kitchen Social_1_Meals and Children 2017-2021.xlsx

Eating Disorders - Funding and Resourcing

Andrew Boff: What can the Mayor do to ensure that the NHS is funding and resourcing eating disorder services to meet the adequate demand, for both children and adults?

The Mayor: Funding and resourcing of eating disorder services is decided by the NHS and health and care partners. I continue to meet regularly with senior healthcare leaders to champion and challenge them to provide the high-quality care Londoners deserve. Across London, work is being undertaken to maintain the 95% NHS waiting time standard for both urgent and routine eating disorder cases and ensure there is sufficient service capacity to support the increased demand.
Whilst I have no statutory powers to decide on treatment services themselves, I have funded wellbeing resources that support Londoners with eating disorders. Last year I invested £70,000 in expanding Good Thinking’s digital mental health support offer to young Londoners, including information, advice and support for young people, parents and carers affected by an eating disorder. I am also ensuring that London’s Youth Mental Health First Aiders are offered training around eating disorders.

Eating Disorders

Andrew Boff: On the 10 November, the Social Costs of Eating Disorders was launched in Parliament which showed that eating disorders cost £9.4billion in 2020. The Minister said that she was keen to work with others to ensure that there was a strategy, and a time frame in place, but nothing has been done to follow this up. What is being done in London to ensure that we are meeting the demand of those struggling and affected by this deadly illness? Have you met with Hope Virgo, Founder of #DumpTheScales, who hosted this event to get a briefing on the strategy she has developed alongside other experts?

The Mayor: An increased demand for eating disorder services is deeply concerning.
Although I am not responsible for health and care services, including eating disorder treatment, I will continue to use my role as Mayor to call for equal and improved provision of and access to services across London to meet demand.
I continue to meet regularly with senior healthcare leaders to champion and challenge them to provide the high-quality care Londoners deserve. Across London, work is being undertaken to maintain the 95% NHS waiting time standard for both urgent and routine eating disorder cases and ensure there is sufficient service capacity to support the increased demand.
The #DumpTheScales campaign has done much to raise awareness on this important issue.

PM2.5 Monitoring Stations (2)

Hina Bokhari: What plans are in place for the installation of PM2.5 monitoring stations in London during 2022?

The Mayor: London already has one of the most comprehensive air quality monitoring networks of any global city. London’s highest-quality reference monitors for PM2.5 are operated and funded by the boroughs, who make plans for the installation of new monitors according to their requirements. Our London Local Authorities Air Quality Management framework encourages boroughs to increase PM2.5 monitoring. A small increase in the number of PM2.5 reference monitors is anticipated in London in 2022. So far one borough has notified City Hall that they intend to install one new PM2.5 monitoring site in 2022.
In January 2021 I launched the Breathe London network, investing in 136 small sensors. Bloomberg Philanthropies has also invested in the network, providing funding for 60 sensors that will be available to communities over 3 years. This year 40 sensors will be added to the network, via community groups. Furthermore, the Breathe London online shop is now live allowing individuals, businesses and organisations to buy a sensor.

Private Sector Salaries

Nicholas Rogers: Please will you provide a breakdown of what the average private sector salary is in each of the boroughs of Hounslow, Richmond and Kingston?

The Mayor: The ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings is the main source of data for measuring levels of pay by local authority. However, a breakdown of private sector earnings is not published at local authority level.
The table below provides the latest information on average (median) weekly pay for all full-time employees working in the boroughs of Hounslow, Kingston and Richmond. A London average is also included for reference.
Median weekly pay for all full-time employee jobs (all sectors), 2021
Area
Weekly pay - gross
Hounslow
£727
Kingston upon Thames
£690
Richmond upon Thames
£707
London
£767
Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS) – Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Notes: estimates for 2021 are provisional; employees are on adult rates, pay is unaffected by absence unless furloughed; data by place of work.

GLA Precept

Leonie Cooper: If the Mayor did not increase his part of Council tax, what cuts would have to be made to the Fire, Police or TfL?

The Mayor: I cannot comment on specific cuts that would be proposed if this funding were not available. Each Functional Body would need to make proposals for reducing expenditure to match the available resources. Any such proposals would ultimately require agreement by the Assembly as part of the usual GLA Group budget setting process.
However, to give some examples of the hard decisions that would be needed, growth proposals requiring additional ongoing revenue from 2022-23 include:
Fire: Addressing the staffing implications associated with dealing with possible Marauding Terrorist Attacks, maintaining response times and continuing to implement the recommendations of both the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 report and the Her Majesty’s Inspectorate report.
Police: Implementing tackling violence initiatives focussing on teen homicide and protecting the victims of violence, particularly women and girls.
TfL: Achieving ongoing financial sustainability from April 2023, as required by government funding agreements following a catastrophic loss of fares income arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Mayor: GLA Precept 2022-0639 - APPX.docx

Electric car charging points at fire stations

Siân Berry: I have received reports that the London Fire Brigade (LFB) has removed all access to its electric vehicle charging points for wider use by Londoners. If so, what assessment has been made of the impact of this, and what support have you provided to ensure alternative charging sites are accessible for Londoners who have already purchased vehicles based on the proximity of these services?

The Mayor: Between 2015 and 2020, nine Electric Vehicle Charging Points at the front of fire stations were accessible to the public.Public access to these points was switched off in July 2020 following revisedscheme conditions set by London Fire Brigade’s ChargePoint provider. LFB has also moved to a fully electric car fleet in line with their zero-emission commitment and usage by both fleet and staff vehicles has increased. This change, therefore, prioritises use for LFB vehicles by providingstaff with access to charging points, maintaining blue light response capability, and encouraging staff to adopt electric vehicles. However, a feasibility study considered which fire stations could be suitable for members of the public to use and identified Surbiton, Hillingdon, and Acton for installation of publicly accessible rapid chargers. These were installed in 2020 and are available for public use.

Reoffending 1

Nicholas Rogers: How are you working with the probation service in London to reduce reoffending?

The Mayor: Reducing violence and reoffending requires a strong and co-ordinated partnership with the reunified London Probation Service.
Amongst the many shared workstreams with probation I have introduced GPS tagging for persistent, knife-crime and domestic abuse offenders on probation, with more than 850 offenders tagged to date. In partnership with Government, I have also commissioned a new £3 million centre in Newham, the first of its kind, to provide young adults on probation with specialist support to reduce their reoffending.
A key part of reducing reoffending is having effective Integrated Offender Management and collaborating with probation and MPS I have led partners in renewing this in London to better manage the most persistent, violent offenders.
I have also provided £5 million for female offenders and pioneered a gendered approach to reducing women’s reoffending. The current female offender service, which is co-commissioned with probation, is helping more women than ever to reduce their offending.

Special Constables 2

Nicholas Rogers: How many special constables applied to become regular officers in the Met in the last two years?

The Mayor: Between January 2020 and December 2021 (inclusive) 284 Metropolitan Special Constables submitted a completed application form to become regular officers.

Reoffending 2

Nicholas Rogers: How are you working with prisons in London to reduce reoffending?

The Mayor: Reducing violence and reoffending requires strong and co-ordinated partnerships that include close collaboration with prisons across London and the wider prison system.
As part developing this partnership, I have invested £700,000 in two London prisons, HMP Isis and HMP Wormwood Scrubs, to provide a range of targeted violence reduction interventions. This approach has also included enhanced police resources in the prison to ensure that all violent incidents are fully investigated and prosecuted. This two-year pilot ends this year and the learning will inform future collaboration with London prisons to reduce reoffending and harm, both in custody and after release.
Reducing reoffending is a priority right across City Hall, with a recent example being the transformation of the prison “Escape” restaurant at HMP Wormwood Scrubs, funded by £108,000 from the Mayor’s Skills for Londoners Capital Fund, to provide training and employment opportunities for prisoners to enter the catering industry and so reduce their risk of reoffending.

Social and Private Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund

Anne Clarke: How many grants have been made from these funds to date? Please provide a breakdown since the funds began, showing: the size of grant; social or private residential; and month of grant award.

The Mayor: As of 8 February 2022, 87 grant payments have been made from the Social Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund. In total, £123,618,611 has been paid out to date. It should be noted that grant is paid in two tranches for this programme – 80 per cent and 20 per cent.
As of 16 February 2022, 186 grant payments have been made from the Private Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund. In total, £53,821,743 has been paid out to date. It should be noted that most buildings under this programme follow a monthly payment structure.
Please see table below for a breakdown of grant paid.
Private Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund
Social Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund
Payment amount (£)
Date of authorisation
Payment amount (£)
Date of authorisation
49,496.00
Feb 3, 2020
277,842.00
Jan 29, 2019
200,631.00
Apr 14, 2020
1,967,170.00
Feb 8, 2019
25,104.00
Apr 16, 2020
7,610,557.00
Feb 14, 2019
211,821.00
May 22, 2020
5,556,092.00
Feb 14, 2019
60,000.00
Jun 24, 2020
1,265,600.00
Feb 25, 2019
409,384.00
Jul 1, 2020
1,533,820.00
Mar 15, 2019
209,382.00
Jul 3, 2020
663,718.00
Mar 15, 2019
12,563.00
Jul 3, 2020
663,718.00
Mar 15, 2019
160,000.00
Jul 16, 2020
13,091,657.00
Mar 18, 2019
19,000.00
Jul 20, 2020
1,794,918.00
Mar 28, 2019
274,822.00
Jul 27, 2020
324,543.00
Mar 28, 2019
202,574.00
Aug 26, 2020
633,606.00
Mar 29, 2019
141,400.00
Sep 15, 2020
276,242.00
May 10, 2019
194,841.00
Sep 28, 2020
3,028,886.00
Apr 18, 2019
87,973.00
Oct 27, 2020
359,650.00
May 29, 2019
313,654.00
Oct 28, 2020
678,305.00
May 8, 2019
429,000.00
Nov 11, 2020
513,030.00
May 8, 2019
606,704.00
Nov 11, 2020
785,957.00
May 15, 2019
154,978.00
Nov 27, 2020
1,841,562.00
Jun 7, 2019
140,530.00
Dec 11, 2020
844,872.00
Dec 20, 2019
429,780.00
Dec 17, 2020
1,124,949.00
Dec 19, 2019
119,920.00
Dec 21, 2020
4,847,856.00
Dec 18, 2019
393,143.00
Dec 23, 2020
89,912.00
Dec 13, 2019
773,872.00
Jan 6, 2021
826,553.00
Nov 27, 2019
400,000.00
Jan 6, 2021
2,046,413.00
Nov 12, 2019
78,004.00
Jan 7, 2021
242,894.00
Nov 7, 2019
48,717.00
Jan 19, 2021
332,181.00
Nov 1, 2019
569,928.00
Jan 20, 2021
332,181.00
Nov 1, 2019
76,721.00
Feb 2, 2021
8,985,065.00
Oct 29, 2019
16,645.00
Feb 5, 2021
332,181.00
Oct 16, 2019
42,364.00
Feb 10, 2021
1,328,722.00
Oct 16, 2019
296,996.00
Feb 11, 2021
1,328,722.00
Oct 15, 2019
50,122.00
Feb 11, 2021
1,328,722.00
Oct 15, 2019
104,911.00
Feb 12, 2021
141,837.00
Oct 9, 2019
181,811.00
Feb 18, 2021
2,399,994.00
Oct 4, 2019
491,348.00
Feb 18, 2021
2,399,994.00
Oct 4, 2019
71,731.00
Feb 23, 2021
2,399,993.00
Oct 4, 2019
128,737.00
Feb 25, 2021
388,993.00
Oct 1, 2019
28,061.00
Mar 2, 2021
266,266.00
Mar 11, 2020
110,557.00
Mar 19, 2021
4,740,146.00
Mar 6, 2020
229,933.00
Mar 19, 2021
826,553.00
Mar 5, 2020
119,802.00
Mar 19, 2021
837,066.00
Feb 5, 2020
113,315.00
Mar 23, 2021
826,553.00
Feb 5, 2020
57,718.00
Mar 24, 2021
505,514.00
Jan 23, 2020
486,220.00
Mar 26, 2021
730,991.00
Jan 23, 2020
411,243.00
Mar 30, 2021
128,258.00
Jan 23, 2020
408,133.00
Mar 30, 2021
1,944,327.00
Aug 14, 2019
238,772.00
Apr 9, 2021
2,619,090.00
Jul 5, 2019
87,823.00
Apr 21, 2021
567,350.00
Jul 5, 2019
524,280.00
Apr 22, 2021
1,378,865.00
Jul 18, 2019
49,061.00
Apr 26, 2021
93,584.00
Jul 18, 2019
37,477.00
Apr 28, 2021
491,793.00
Jul 19, 2019
147,108.00
Apr 29, 2021
382,284.00
Apr 23, 2020
195,903.00
May 5, 2021
85,525.00
Jun 3, 2020
57,800.00
May 6, 2021
328,221.00
Jun 3, 2020
171,394.00
May 6, 2021
308,583.00
Jun 8, 2020
439,000.00
May 10, 2021
1,726,003.00
Sep 30, 2020
160,957.00
May 12, 2021
84,634.00
Sep 23, 2020
3,054,706.00
May 14, 2021
393,546.00
Sep 8, 2020
45,100.00
May 20, 2021
987,501.00
Aug 18, 2020
640,155.00
May 20, 2021
1,010,044.00
Aug 18, 2020
234,719.00
May 20, 2021
10,169.00
Aug 6, 2020
270,742.00
May 21, 2021
45,618.00
Jul 23, 2020
55,400.00
May 24, 2021
2,294,445.00
Jul 2, 2020
160,189.00
May 26, 2021
580,576.00
Dec 23, 2020
151,808.00
Jun 3, 2021
517,709.00
Dec 23, 2020
29,142.00
Jun 3, 2021
2,380,000.00
Feb 16, 2021
109,596.00
Jun 3, 2021
1,002,458.00
Mar 10, 2021
104,057.00
Jun 8, 2021
155,089.00
Mar 24, 2021
217,896.00
Jun 10, 2021
588,396.00
Mar 26, 2021
242,312.00
Jun 10, 2021
144,044.00
Mar 26, 2021
540,752.00
Jun 15, 2021
3,588,224.00
Mar 30, 2021
214,509.00
Jun 15, 2021
165,930.00
Mar 30, 2021
187,336.00
Jun 17, 2021
383,455.00
Mar 30, 2021
88,000.00
Jun 21, 2021
165,930.00
Mar 30, 2021
184,050.00
Jun 21, 2021
103,440.00
Apr 15, 2021
280,000.00
Jun 23, 2021
588,396.00
Apr 28, 2021
189,704.00
Jun 23, 2021
144,044.00
Apr 28, 2021
295,500.00
Jun 23, 2021
459,841.00
Jun 18, 2021
36,540.00
Jun 23, 2021
8,657,574.00
Sep 10, 2021
971,835.00
Jun 23, 2021
356,052.00
Sep 30, 2021
103,889.00
Jun 25, 2021
316,403.00
Sep 20, 2021
29,443.00
Jul 8, 2021
145,406.00
Nov 17, 2021
173,869.00
Jul 8, 2021
163,527.00
Nov 17, 2021
156,612.00
Jul 14, 2021
2,185,646.00
Dec 16, 2021
250,560.00
Jul 19, 2021
1,731,448.00
Dec 16, 2021
47,339.00
Jul 21, 2021
893,187.00
Dec 21, 2021
52,045.00
Jul 21, 2021
74,093.00
Jul 21, 2021
51,411.00
Jul 21, 2021
301,750.00
Jul 21, 2021
104,251.00
Jul 21, 2021
99,144.00
Jul 21, 2021
112,461.00
Jul 21, 2021
557,934.00
Jul 21, 2021
76,445.00
Jul 22, 2021
200,939.00
Jul 22, 2021
225,152.00
Jul 23, 2021
268,384.00
Jul 23, 2021
98,336.00
Jul 29, 2021
157,345.00
Aug 2, 2021
118,254.00
Aug 9, 2021
39,042.00
Aug 9, 2021
44,340.00
Aug 19, 2021
504,627.00
Aug 20, 2021
1,478,152.00
Aug 20, 2021
1,007,969.00
Aug 24, 2021
625,538.00
Aug 24, 2021
104,896.00
Aug 26, 2021
316,107.00
Aug 27, 2021
53,697.00
Sep 3, 2021
103,114.00
Sep 7, 2021
79,367.00
Sep 8, 2021
348,000.00
Sep 10, 2021
326,796.00
Sep 15, 2021
118,574.00
Sep 15, 2021
631,964.00
Sep 17, 2021
28,035.00
Sep 17, 2021
496,415.00
Sep 24, 2021
65,955.00
Sep 27, 2021
538,554.00
Sep 27, 2021
59,827.00
Sep 27, 2021
372,572.00
Sep 27, 2021
598,835.00
Oct 12, 2021
1,425,239.00
Oct 12, 2021
90,905.00
Oct 13, 2021
33,954.00
Oct 13, 2021
457,867.00
Oct 13, 2021
231,154.00
Oct 14, 2021
473,140.00
Oct 26, 2021
292,717.00
Oct 26, 2021
98,446.00
Oct 28, 2021
296,609.00
Oct 29, 2021
3,726,434.00
Nov 2, 2021
66,911.00
Nov 8, 2021
893,811.00
Nov 11, 2021
55,221.00
Nov 17, 2021
140,578.00
Nov 18, 2021
245,888.00
Nov 23, 2021
1,097,986.00
Nov 25, 2021
226,637.00
Nov 25, 2021
45,442.00
Nov 30, 2021
48,340.00
Nov 30, 2021
135,254.00
Dec 2, 2021
363,071.00
Dec 3, 2021
77,037.00
Dec 7, 2021
1,759,156.00
Dec 7, 2021
155,508.00
Dec 10, 2021
165,379.00
Dec 15, 2021
24,574.00
Dec 15, 2021
467,265.00
Dec 16, 2021
14,039.00
Dec 16, 2021
13,370.00
Dec 16, 2021
36,958.00
Dec 16, 2021
25,572.00
Dec 16, 2021
14,731.00
Dec 16, 2021
333,854.00
Dec 17, 2021
20,800.00
Dec 17, 2021
1,234,974.00
Dec 17, 2021
48,030.00
Dec 17, 2021
99,388.00
Dec 17, 2021
99,609.00
Dec 17, 2021
19,895.00
Dec 17, 2021
312,799.00
Dec 17, 2021
620,348.00
Dec 17, 2021
1,035,283.00
Dec 17, 2021
239,206.00
Dec 17, 2021
93,366.00
Dec 17, 2021
201,121.00
Dec 21, 2021
33,157.00
Dec 22, 2021
1,160,204.00
Dec 23, 2021
623,806.00
Jan 11, 2022
135,156.00
Jan 13, 2022
1,060,598.00
Jan 19, 2022
249,545.00
Jan 21, 2022
324,124.00
Jan 25, 2022
290,184.00
Jan 25, 2022
78,952.00
Feb 2, 2022
186,435.00
Feb 2, 2022
17,219.00
Feb 11, 2022
7,117.00
Feb 11, 2022
47,767.00
Feb 11, 2022
38,298.00
Feb 11, 2022
16,133.00
Feb 11, 2022
175,678.00
Feb 11, 2022
60,260.00
Feb 15, 2022

Waking Watch Relief Fund

Anne Clarke: How many grants have been made from this fund to date? Please provide a breakdown since the funds began, showing the size of grant and date of grant award.

The Mayor: As at 9 February 2022, 68 grant payments have been authorised from the Waking Watch Relief Fund totalling £6,265,459.
Waking Watch Relief Fund
Payment amount (£)
Date of authorisation
£82,368
10/09/2021
£17,040
10/09/2021
£277,888
25/08/2021
£68,782
22/09/2021
£103,040
24/09/2021
£82,658
24/09/2021
£37,883
24/09/2021
£25,328
04/10/2021
£124,399
11/10/2021
£50,890
19/10/2021
£118,103
21/10/2021
£327,600
22/10/2021
£161,280
27/10/2021
£201,462
28/10/2021
£111,240
01/11/2021
£99,836
01/11/2021
£291,301
03/11/2021
£39,294
03/11/2021
£20,665
04/11/2021
£133,527
04/11/2021
£68,577
03/11/2021
£145,718
08/11/2021
£103,631
09/11/2021
£69,600
10/11/2021
£143,040
15/11/2021
£27,810
18/11/2021
£45,665
25/11/2021
£121,125
25/11/2021
£25,760
08/12/2021
£20,592
08/12/2021
£67,547
07/12/2021
£153,335
07/12/2021
£38,334
08/12/2021
£91,096
09/12/2021
£90,058
09/12/2021
£81,949
09/12/2021
£73,901
09/12/2021
£115,425
09/12/2021
£129,003.00
10/12/2021
£83,717.00
10/12/2021
£9,471.00
13/12/2021
£134,330.00
15/12/2021
£44,062.00
15/12/2021
£97,875.00
16/12/2021
£47,769.00
17/12/2021
£361,219.00
17/12/2021
£80,651.00
17/12/2021
£119,100.00
17/12/2021
£28,857.00
21/12/2021
£28,702.00
21/12/2021
£20,487.00
21/12/2021
£22,775.00
21/12/2021
£18,476.00
21/12/2021
£6,332
23/12/2021
£98,031
06/01/2022
£143,023
11/01/2022
£65,815
11/01/2022
£67,547
12/01/2022
£53,692
12/01/2022
£151,366.00
13/01/2022
£53,691.50
17/01/2022
£114,848.00
26/01/2022
£56,541.00
01/02/2022
£56,843.00
01/02/2022
£90,312.00
01/02/2022
£11,016.00
02/02/2022
£46,872.00
04/02/2022
£165,288.00
09/02/2022

Waking Watches and London’s Boroughs

Anne Clarke: Please provide a borough-by-borough breakdown of the number of buildings operating waking watches in London. Please also breakdown the numbers for buildings over 18m and under 18m in each borough.

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade (LFB) collects data for buildings with a temporary suspension of ‘stay put’ where an interim simultaneous evacuation strategy has been put in place. This includes, but is not limited to, waking watches, which the National Fire Chiefs Council guidance defines as a system where ‘suitably trained persons continually patrol all floors and the exterior perimeter of the building in order to detect a fire, raise the alarm, and carry out the role of evacuation management’.Residential buildings with an interim simultaneous evacuation strategy in place could have personnel on site or a remote monitoring system, but this is determined by the Responsible Person with guidancefroma competent fire safety professional.
The figures can changeon a daily basiswhen interim measures are required, or a building is remediated and no longer requires the interim measures. The number of buildings where an interim simultaneous evacuation strategy has been put in place, asof14 February 2022, are presented by borough and by height in the table below.
Local Authority
Total blocks
Over 18 metres
Under 18 metres
Barking and Dagenham
21
15
6
Barnet
23
17
6
Bexley
3
3
0
Brent
57
39
18
Bromley
4
2
2
Camden
42
37
5
City of London
3
2
1
Croydon
37
22
15
Ealing
19
12
7
Enfield
3
2
1
Greenwich
74
64
10
Hackney
86
69
17
Hammersmith and Fulham
15
13
2
Haringey
18
12
6
Harrow
4
3
1
Havering
11
10
1
Hillingdon
16
9
7
Hounslow
24
18
6
Islington
71
41
30
Kensington and Chelsea
22
13
9
Kingston upon Thames
4
4
0
Lambeth
52
37
15
Lewisham
52
34
18
Merton
4
3
1
Newham
75
71
4
Redbridge
12
10
2
Richmond
1
1
0
Southwark
102
78
24
Sutton
31
6
25
Tower Hamlets
174
160
14
Waltham Forest
21
21
0
Wandsworth
39
35
4
Westminster
44
41
3
Total
1164
904
260

LFB Togetherness Strategy (2)

Anne Clarke: On 25 November 2021 the London Fire Brigade (LFB) published its Togetherness Policy which said “We will regularly publish our performance in relation to togetherness to ensure we are achieving our commitments from our [togetherness] strategy and action plan. These are published on our Inclusion and Togetherness page as well as on our external website.” As of 3 February 2022, the performance data does not appear on the LFB website at https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/about-us/diversity-and-inclusion/. Can you ensure the information is added and kept updated in the future?

The Mayor: As part of London Fire Brigade’s transition to programme management, the Brigade will determine the performance data that will reported on, in addition to data which is already published in the quarterly performance reports. This process is expected to take four to six months and once complete, the Brigade will be in a position to publish more complete information. The London Safety Plan will also include updated performance measures around Togetherness, which are currently being prepared. Updates on these measures will be incorporated into the quarterly performance reports.

LFB Togetherness Strategy (1)

Anne Clarke: The London Fire Brigade (LFB) Quarterly Performance report does not provides a progress update on the actions in the Togetherness Strategy. Will you ensure that The LFB Quarterly Performance report Quarter 3 2021/22, and all subsequent reports, publish the full list of actions in a table showing their RAG rating and Forecast/actual end date?

The Mayor: The London Fire Brigade (LFB) quarterly performance reports, including the Q3 2021/22 performance report, reference progress on the Togetherness Strategy but do not have a detailed update against all objectives. The Brigade is in the process of transitioning to a programme and project management approach, which will result in new way of managing the performance of the strategy. This process is expected to take four to six months and once complete, the Brigade will publish more complete information.

LFB Transformation Delivery Plan

Anne Clarke: The London Fire Brigade (LFB) Quarterly Performance report provides a progress update on the Transformation Delivery Plan which shows how many of the 65 actions are on track, off track, delayed, closed or complete. It then goes on to name those actions that are off track or that were completed in the previous quarter. However, it does not name each of the 65 actions and their status, which means we do not have a complete view of the delivery of the actions.
Will you ensure that The LFB Quarterly Performance report Quarter 3 2021/22, and all subsequent reports, publish the full list of actions in a table showing their RAG rating and Forecast/actual end date?

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade’s performance report for Q3 2021/22 has already been published on the London Datastore. However, the Brigade has considered this feedback on reporting on the Transformation Delivery Plan and will include full details of the status of all 65 actions with the performance report for Q4 2021/22 and thereafter.

Building Safety Fund

Anne Clarke: How many grants have been made from this fund to date? Please provide a breakdown since the funds began, showing the size of grant and date of grant award.

The Mayor: As of 15 February 2022, 112 grant payments have been made from the Building Safety Fund totalling £92,457,960. This consists of £54,213,649 in pre-tender support, and £38,244,311 as the first payment of the Grant Funding Agreement.
Please see table below for a breakdown.
Building Safety Fund
Payment amount (£)
Date of authorisation
167,267.00
15-Oct-20
515,104.00
09-Dec-20
571,988.00
07-Jan-21
219,898.00
11-Jan-21
1,764,874.00
13-Jan-21
463,175.00
22-Jan-21
455,989.00
27-Jan-21
131,519.00
04-Feb-21
628,330.00
12-Feb-21
60,301.00
24-Feb-21
323,825.00
24-Feb-21
1,801,940.00
25-Feb-21
465,657.00
25-Feb-21
227,348.00
25-Feb-21
274,178.00
25-Feb-21
230,728.00
08-Mar-21
479,823.00
10-Mar-21
372,809.00
11-Mar-21
398,934.00
17-Mar-21
728,716.00
17-Mar-21
88,023.00
30-Mar-21
460,607.00
30-Mar-21
347,273.00
06-Apr-21
916,157.00
07-Apr-21
207,214.00
08-Apr-21
1,105,267.00
08-Apr-21
944,089.00
14-Apr-21
720,162.00
14-Apr-21
235,571.00
16-Apr-21
2,220,132.00
16-Apr-21
1,083,674.00
19-Apr-21
470,328.00
21-Apr-21
292,957.00
21-Apr-21
212,888.00
05-May-21
80,956.00
07-May-21
1,388,588.00
14-May-21
1,798,652.00
19-May-21
157,071.00
19-May-21
246,495.00
24-May-21
1,003,815.00
04-Jun-21
228,782.00
08-Jun-21
783,091.00
11-Jun-21
91,918.00
15-Jun-21
335,660.00
16-Jun-21
170,400.00
21-Jun-21
628,113.00
28-Jun-21
162,337.00
28-Jun-21
142,199.00
30-Jun-21
1,132,684.00
08-Jul-21
110,111.00
15-Jul-21
375,402.00
23-Jul-21
393,939.00
23-Jul-21
267,276.00
27-Jul-21
497,725.00
28-Jul-21
495,864.00
28-Jul-21
215,192.00
28-Jul-21
472,520.00
28-Jul-21
425,443.00
28-Jul-21
100,000.00
04-Aug-21
311,927.00
10-Aug-21
314,659.00
11-Aug-21
279,364.00
12-Aug-21
1,427,461.00
17-Aug-21
889,482.00
24-Aug-21
606,617.00
24-Aug-21
4,613,623.00
24-Aug-21
2,369,705.00
15-Sep-21
558,041.00
15-Sep-21
288,281.00
20-Sep-21
154,202.00
20-Sep-21
1,051,044.00
23-Sep-21
224,842.00
23-Sep-21
159,707.00
24-Sep-21
1,335,694.00
24-Sep-21
655,880.00
29-Sep-21
308,483.00
30-Sep-21
1,458,594.00
30-Sep-21
195,232.00
07-Oct-21
407,506.00
11-Oct-21
1,018,784.00
12-Oct-21
200,867.00
19-Oct-21
239,337.00
25-Oct-21
513,355.00
25-Oct-21
593,917.00
25-Oct-21
691,702.00
28-Oct-21
164,345.00
12-Nov-21
439,053.00
16-Nov-21
1,320,246.00
24-Nov-21
1,575,865.00
30-Nov-21
185,844.00
16-Dec-21
1,551,058.00
17-Dec-21
295,420.00
21-Dec-21
739,070.00
21-Dec-21
59,622.00
22-Dec-21
1,569,995.00
05-Jan-22
146,749.00
13-Jan-22
97,038.00
20-Jan-22
160,000.00
25-Jan-22
521,530.00
27-Jan-22
3,642,884.00
27-Jan-22
86,666.00
28-Jan-22
80,898.00
28-Jan-22
7,864,134.00
31-Jan-22
1,290,314.00
01-Feb-22
3,702,761.00
04-Feb-22
243,181.00
08-Feb-22
35,000.00
09-Feb-22
422,398.00
10-Feb-22
5,496,083.00
11-Feb-22
177,146.00
11-Feb-22
1,106,062.00
11-Feb-22
7,325,314.00
14-Feb-22

Eating Disorders – Health Inequalities Strategy

Andrew Boff: The Mayor's Health Inequalities strategy fails to talk about a plan to tackle the health inequalities specifically around eating disorders, an issue that we know has increased during the pandemic and where access to treatment and support is extremely limited. Will the Mayor amend his health inequalities strategy to meet the demand of Londoners?

The Mayor: I am deeply concerned by reports of increases in eating disorders and of Londoners struggling to access the care and treatment that they need.
The 10-year Health Inequalities Strategy (HIS) is a strategy for all Londoners. While it is not possible in such a broad-ranging strategy to reflect all individual health conditions, through acting on the wider determinants of health it seeks to address the inequalities faced by different Londoners. For example, through the HIS, I have committed to supporting Londoners’ mental health, including working with Good Thinking and Thrive LDN, whose resources include information, advice and support for people affected by eating disorders.
Whilst I am not responsible or accountable for health and care services, I continue to meet regularly with health and care partners to champion and challenge them to provide the high-quality care Londoners deserve, including improved and equal provision of services across London.

Car theft

Leonie Cooper: Since 2018, how many cars have been stolen in:
1) Merton
2) Wandsworth

The Mayor: Theft of motor vehicle data covering the specified period is published by the MPS on the London Datastore: https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/recorded_crime_summary
The data sets with the required information are:
MPS Borough Level Crime (historic)
and
MPS Borough Level Crime (most recent 24 months)
This data is updated monthly and is broken down by MPS borough.

Lambeth and Southwark Young Londoners Fund Schemes

Marina Ahmad: How much of the Young Londoners Fund has been invested in Lambeth and Southwark since 2018? How many organisations in Lambeth and Southwark have received support from initiatives delivered through the Young Londoners Fund?

The Mayor: Since 2018, my Young Londoners Fund (YLF) has invested £5,041,747 in Lambeth and Southwark through Rounds 1 and 2. 38 organisations have received funding and many of them partner with other specialist youth initiatives to provide support for young people.
Building Young Brixton (BYB) was awarded £858,107 and is a partnership of 6 local youth, community and education specialists, working together to provide a multifaceted service for young people across central Brixton.
Millwall Community Trust in Southwark was awarded £149,622 to build on its Breaking Barriers Southwark partnership programme. The initiative has identified two areas where local young people have fewer opportunities to access positive, developmental pathways to increase their resilience and reduce the risk of involvement in crime.
A full list of projects funded by my Young Londoners Fund (including existing City Hall projects which were scaled up) can be found here Young Londoners Fund Projects - London Datastore

Air Pollution in Ealing and Hillingdon (3)

Onkar Sahota: What have the average levels of pollution been around Green Lane in Hillingdon in 2019, 2020 and 2021?

The Mayor: The London Borough of Hillingdon monitors air pollution across the borough. The closest monitoring site to Green Lane is a nitrogen dioxide (NO2) diffusion tube located at Hillingdon Primary School, site HILL04.
Appendix 1 gives the monitoring results. Due to action I have taken on air pollution since 2016, there was a 16% reduction at this site between 2016 and 2020. The GLA does not yet have the data for 2021. The borough will finalise this data and submit it later this year.
All of Hillingdon’s air quality monitoring results are available on the council’s website: http://www.hillingdon-air.info/laqm.php

The Mayor: MQ0735 Appendix 1_CB.docx

Specialist Housing

Sem Moema: What role can more specialist housing play in easing London’s housing crisis? Would you encourage more housing of this type for mature Londoners to encourage them to downsize to free up larger homes which could go to families and reduce overcrowding?

The Mayor: Data from the English Housing Survey indicates that there are around 300,000 households in London headed by someone aged 65 or above who are ‘under-occupying’ family-sized homes (that is, with at least two more bedrooms than they require according to the bedroom standard measure).
Many older Londoners may therefore be occupying homes that are larger than they need or would want. While the barriers to ‘rightsizing’ can be complex, building new homes that meet the needs and match the preferences of older Londoners could free up many family-sized homes. Specialist housing also enables older Londoners to live independent and dignified lives.
Last year I secured a further £43.5 million of funding from the Government for my Care and Support Specialised Housing programme (CASSH), which supports the delivery of affordable homes tailored to older people’s needs. So far CASSH has supported 1,657 starts and 830 completions in London. My Seaside and Country Homes programme also helps older Londoners to find a suitable home in other regions, freeing up invaluable social housing for households in need.

Dedicated Graffiti Investigation Team

Caroline Pidgeon: The British Transport Police has a small team dedicated to investigating graffiti offences. Does the Met have such a team, and if not, is this something being considered?

The Mayor: There is no central or dedicated team to investigate graffiti offences. Matters such as this are addressed, managed and problem solved locally by each BCU.
Any relevant intelligence or information is recorded and/or shared internally and externally as appropriate. At this time, there are no plans to change the current structure.

Met Independent Advisory Groups (1)

Caroline Pidgeon: Please provide a list of the Met’s current Independent Advisory Groups (IAGs).

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) currently facilitates 4 Pan-London Strategic Independent Advisory Groups (IAG) which are the Disability IAG, LGBT+ IAG, Race IAG and Somali IAG.

Met Independent Advisory Groups (2)

Caroline Pidgeon: How often do the Met Independent Advisory Groups (IAGs) meet, when was the last time each one met, and are minutes from these meetings made publicly available?

The Mayor: The frequency and date of the last meetings of the Independent Advisory Groups (IAGs) are set out below. The minutes of the meeting are circulated at the discretion of the individual IAG.
The LGBT+ IAG has a website, which can be accessed here: http://www.lgbtag.org.uk/

Met Officer Training and Awareness of Chem Sex (2)

Caroline Pidgeon: The Met launched training for officers around the drug Gamma Hydroxybutyrate (GHB) following the learnings from the Stephen Port murders. Can you provide information on wider training that is given to officers around chem-sex and how often this is refreshed?

The Mayor: Training on Chemsex has been developed by Chemsex Tactical & Policy Advisers (TPAs) and is included in initial recruit training. TPAs have also developed very comprehensive training for officers and staff in more specialist roles, with these inputs bespoke to their role requirements. These include Borough Intelligence Development Officers, Drugs Expert Witnesses, Forensic Leads, Custody Nurse Practitioners, DPS, LGBT+ Advisers, DIs / DCIs and those dealing with indecent images of children (IIOC).
Training is regularly updated as new themes, trends and learning are identified from both police and partner cases

Samaritans (2)

Onkar Sahota: A team of Samaritans volunteers was in action recently in my constituency at Ealing Broadway Station, along with MTR Elizabeth Line staff, for the annual ‘Brew Monday’ event. It encourages people to reach out for a cup of tea or coffee and to catch-up with those they care about. How important is normalising mental wellbeing via projects such as this one, and how can you help projects like this continue?

The Mayor: Normalising conversations about mental health and wellbeing is crucial. None of us is superhuman and it has never been more important for each of us to think and talk about our mental health and wellbeing – and to seek help and support should we need it.
London’s Recovery Programme aims to enable and empower Londoners to improve their own and their communities’ wellbeing, particularly those whose wellbeing is worse or at greater risk. This includes funding for projects that get Londoners together, talking about mental health and improving signposting to extra support.
I support destigmatising mental health and encouraging Londoners to discuss their challenges by engaging in awareness-raising days and activities initiated by ThriveLDN and partners, such as Samaritans. To that end, I have recently supported iLondon’s World Mental Health Day festival, World Suicide Prevention Day, Mental Health Awareness Week, and London’s first ever Great Mental Health Day.

Samaritans (1)

Onkar Sahota: Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith Samaritans recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. Does the Mayor believe Londoners needing emotional support are adequately served by the Samaritans and similar organisations, or is more help required?

The Mayor: The Samaritans and other charities that focus on supporting mental health and wellbeing do a fantastic job. I work with Thrive LDN and partners to make sure Londoners know about the diverse range of support on offer, should they need it.
The pandemic has brought additional challenges and we’ve seen the demand for services increase. This is predicted to continue to rise. Thus, a key priority of London’s Recovery Programme is improving Londoners’ access to support and resources.
Learning from the role voluntary and community organisations and statutory bodies have played in supporting people’s mental health during the pandemic is crucial. Last year I commissioned Centre for Mental Health to explore this. The resulting report, A Lifeline for London, makes recommendations on how the health and social care sector, funders and voluntary and community organisations can work more effectively in supporting Londoners’ needs.

100-year-old volunteer

Onkar Sahota: Beryl Carr is 100 years of age and still serving behind the cash register and making drinks at Friends Café in Ealing Hospital in my constituency. She started as a volunteer at the café 18 years ago when she moved to London after her husband died. Beryl said she knew no-one, so it became a lifeline for her. How does the Mayor encourage volunteering in London? What learning has been made from this and how can it be improved?

The Mayor: Over 1000 volunteers register with the Team London website each month and there are around 600 roles being promoted at any time. We are working with partners to support an even stronger offer for promotion of volunteering in London.
Last year my team distributed 10,000 bespoke Thank You cards for organisations to recognise their volunteers. On International Volunteer day, I released a video sharing my thanks for the valuable time that volunteers give to London. This campaign built on previous Mayor of London Volunteering Awards.
I support social action in schools through Team London Young Ambassadors and volunteering opportunities for young people through Headstart Action. I also directly involve Londoners in volunteering through Team London Ambassadors.
Building on research into barriers and benefits of volunteering I have developed programmes to deliver inclusive Trustee Training as well as establishing the My London programme. This programme provides social action opportunities to support positive mental health for young people.

Air pollution in Ealing and Hillingdon (2)

Onkar Sahota: What have the average levels of pollution been around Station Road in Hillingdon in 2019, 2020 and 2021?

The Mayor: The London Borough of Hillingdon monitors nitrogen dioxide (NO2) by diffusion tube at two sites in the vicinity of Station Road: Hill18 at Blythe Road and HILL26 at 130 Cleave Avenue.
Appendix 1 gives the monitoring results. In 2016 both sites were in exceedance of the annual legal limit. Due to the action I have taken on air pollution since 2016 there was an average 30% reduction at all sites between 2016 and 2020, with both sites meeting the annual limit by 2019. The GLA does not yet have the data for 2021. The borough will finalise this data and submit it later this year.
All of Hillingdon’s air quality monitoring results are available on the council’s website: http://www.hillingdon-air.info/laqm.php

The Mayor: MQ0700 Appendix 1_CB.docx